by J. L. Weil
“Do you ever think about leaving, searching for her on your own?”
I hadn’t asked the question to make her uncomfortable, but her fingers fidgeted with the fabric on the bed. “It has crossed my mind, but I wouldn’t be able to survive out there. I don’t have any abilities. I’d be lost.”
It was enough that she had thought about leaving here, for it made me feel as if I could trust Star. “I think about escaping,” I admitted. “I don’t know if I can stay here.”
She grabbed my hand, her skin cold and clammy. “Don’t say that. Promise you won’t tell anyone. I don’t want to get in trouble.”
Genuine fear rang in her voice, and I gave her fingers a squeeze. “I swear, Star. I won’t.” But seeing that instant leap of distress, I wanted to know why me possibly being a blabbermouth caused her such fright. “Has anyone threatened you?”
“No, why would you think that?” Her words were rushed, and her eyes darted over the room. I could spot a lie a mile away.
“You don’t have to be afraid,” I whispered. “I won’t let anyone hurt you. Ever. I swear it.”
“As noble as that is, you can’t be everywhere at once. Besides, I’m fine.”
Fine, my left butt cheek. She was lying. What isn’t she telling me? But I knew if I pushed her while she was jumpy, Star would only clam up. “Okay, if you insist, but you can trust me, Star. I’m your friend.”
A wistful gleam moved into her eyes. “We’re friends?”
I nodded. “You’re kind of my only friend.”
She beamed, the grin on her lips growing.
That night I sincerely thought about leaving the Institute, just walking out the front door and never looking back.
But where would I go?
How would I survive?
This time, I would be entirely on my own. No Dash to keep away the things that went bump in the middle of the night. No Dash to catch my dinner and cook it. No Dash to navigate me through the Heights.
There was a theme: no Dash.
And I was too scared to take the leap alone.
I rubbed the bridge of my nose to relieve the sinus pressure building in my head. I needed rest, and for once, I wasn’t dreading slumber.
Sleep went from being something I’d been afraid of to a drug I craved. For in the land of dreams, I could sometimes see the one person I missed the most, the only one who seemed to understand me.
To my frustration, the visions had a mind of their own, coming and going as they pleased. And never when I sought them. If there were an ability I hadn’t been able to understand, it was the visions—the pink color.
Tonight, I got lucky, and I wasn’t going to question the gift. The visions of Dash made me feel complete. Pretty messed up, considering most of the time he was in trouble, being hunted by the Institute and its guards, yet there was something almost normal about the constant danger. I’d become accustomed to it since it was all I’d known since I’d woken up, but it didn’t stop me from wanting to save him for a change.
I had to find a way to get him off the Institute’s radar.
Chapter Seven
A vision hit me fast.
I stood in the courtyard outside my room of the Institute. Guards lay on the ground all around me. Star was at my side. What was wrong with the guards? Why weren’t they moving? I was afraid of the answer and what had left them in such a state.
I grabbed her hand, weaved through the manicured hedges, flowering bushes, and stone benches, and followed the pathway to the gatehouse.
We ran straight out of Diamond Towers and into a rocky alcove, never looking over our shoulders. Fear and adrenaline pumped in my chest, but we kept going. Star stumbled, and I knew I was pushing her to her limits. She hadn’t trained as I had. Her body didn’t have my stamina, but I wanted to put as much distance between the white city and us as our bodies would allow.
Star was so scared that her fingers trembled underneath mine. It had taken all of her courage to go through with what we had planned, but there was no other way. We had to take the risk. No regrets, no matter the outcome—success or failure. I had promised Star my protection, and that included from the Institute.
Being responsible for someone else was a heavy burden, but I wouldn’t let her down.
The vision shifted, the Institute and Star disappearing. I found myself staring at the base of a black mountain. Somber Mountain, Dash had called it. Tendrils of smoke crawled along the ground, coating the air in a suffocating thickness. My boots crunched over the rocks—even as my instincts told me to run—but through the misty shadows, I saw a figure.
I caught a scream from escaping my throat and swallowed it back. “God. You scared me, Dash.” I took a deep breath because my voice had trembled.
Dash simply stood cloaked in the white mist, watching me. “What took you so long?”
I rolled my eyes. “Are you okay? Are you safe?”
His hand extended through the fog, reaching for mine. “Come find me, Freckles. We can’t end it until we are together.”
End what?
I never got my answer. Regaining consciousness, I sat up, my eyes flying open. A low light from the moon shone in the small room as my fists balled on the bed. The vision had come and gone like the wind. I had only a minute with Dash, and I wanted so much more. I’d even take just watching him like a creeper.
I couldn’t go back in time and run off with Dash when the opportunity had arose, but instinctively, I knew Star and I would escape from the Institute. We were going to find Dash.
Rising at dawn for cheerleading practice was something I’d tolerated at one time—not my favorite thing, but a small price to pay for doing what I loved.
Rising at dawn to get the snot beaten out of you was plain wrong on so many levels. I could handle the squats, the mile-plus runs, and jumping jacks well enough. It was the dreaded sparring—the exercise not of the body, but of our gifts—that sucked.
I told myself I would get stronger. Physically and magically. And I would find a way to escape the Institute and find Dash. The vision last night had been clear, and gave me purpose for the first time since I’d been taken. I was meant to leave with Star. We just needed to figure out how and when. And in the meantime, I was going to be the damn best trainee the Institute had seen since Dash Darhk.
I collapsed on the grass beside Ryker, winded and calves burning. “I hate you,” I said in between the heavy panting.
He grinned, turning his head toward me. Strands of damp hair stuck to his forehead. “It’s a start. I can work with hate. It is only a step away from love, you know.”
I snorted. “Dream on.”
“What else is there to do but dream?”
Good point. “Sorry to say, bucko, but our dreams don’t line up.”
“Ouch.” He placed both his hands over his chest in a wounded gesture. “Careful or you’ll have a heart as hard as your sister’s.”
I rolled my eyes. “So what is the deal with you and her anyway?”
“We’re friends.”
I snorted. “Ember doesn’t have friends. From what I can see, she has a long line of enemies.”
“And are you one of them?” he inquired.
My face sobered. “No. She is my sister.”
“And my friend.”
I got it. Regardless of who she’d become, we’d both stick by her side. “Just a friend?” I teased. “My sister definitely has a crush on you.”
He lifted himself up on an elbow so he looked down at my face. “Ember is complicated. I’m not sure she is ready for a relationship.”
“Is anyone ever really ready? Especially now.” Moaning, I rolled over and made myself sit up. There was no denying that I was getting stronger and my combat skills were improving, but my body still hurt like a mother trucker. “Can I ask you a question?” I didn’t know if I could trust Ryker, but he was different than the other recruits or guards.
He rested his wrist over his bent knee. “Shoot.”
“Do you believe in what you’re doing here?”
“Going for the big questions. I’ve been part of the Night’s Guard for over a year. I’ve seen things that should only be in movies… horror shows. That said, I don’t always agree with everything Jaxson does or the methods with which we deal with certain situations, but for the most part, I do believe in what the Institute stands for: the promise of a new tomorrow.”
I wanted to have faith in my parents and the council governing the Heights, but I couldn’t shake this sneaking suspicion something else was going on. Diamond Towers was built on secrets.
“I can see by those little wrinkles on your forehead that you’re uncertain about what you’re doing here.”
“Like I have much of a choice in the matter,” I said dryly.
“True. Not everyone has had the same experience as you. Most of us were grateful to get out of the Heights and have somewhere safe to stay.”
“I didn’t mean to dump on you. Everything is so different; I’m still trying to adjust.” I nudged my shoulder against his. “Thanks for not wanting to beat the crap out of me.”
He smirked. “You’re welcome, Red.”
The longer I stayed at the Institute, the more frequent the visions came, as if they were telling me my time was almost up. As days went by, I’d become less afraid of not waking up and more afraid of what my dreams might hold next. I clung to the moments when I could see Dash’s face, and feared those that left me shaken with a sense of hopelessness. The visions were never the feel-good dreams that had you smirking in your sleep. Nope. Nada. Not here.
The few people I cared about in this cracked out world were always in danger. What good was this ability if I couldn’t do anything to protect them, save them?
It was a pattern I wanted to end.
Tonight was no different.
The spotlight went to Star this time, and I was a little taken aback. Star lay in an all white room, flat on her back, a light shining bright over her face. The room was too clean, like an operating room—sterile. Beside her sat a tray with a syringe, a tube filled with something disgusting, and other surgical tools.
Even immersed in a vision, my stomach pitched.
Heels clattered on the tile floor, and Star turned her head toward the doctor cloaked in a mask, gloves, and a white smock. “Remember to stay still. This will only take a moment,” the doctor mumbled from behind the mask, picking up the syringe and sucking up the goo from the test tube.
Star’s fingers clutched the end of the medical table. “Just like a shot, right?” she asked. Her voice quivered. It was nice to know I wasn’t the only human afraid of needles.
“Quick, like a bee sting. It will be over before you know it. Then you can check on Charlotte.”
My ears perked at the mention of my name. Was the face under the mask my mother’s?
It couldn’t be, could it?
And yet I recognized that voice, and the phrase about a bee sting sounded so familiar.
Without hesitating, the doctor jabbed the needle into Star’s neck, pressing down on the plunger and injecting the liquid into Star’s bloodstream. Star relaxed her shoulders, relief reflecting in her eyes.
The doctor started rattling off the potential side effects: fever, rash at the entry site, muscle aches—the usual. It all seemed routine, until it wasn’t. As the doctor spoke, Star’s whole body started to jerk, her muscles spasming. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and foam formed inside her mouth, dripping out of the corners.
Star! I screamed, but the vision was always a parallel world I was unable to penetrate. As a bystander, I watched my friend die on the metal table.
The doctor didn’t seem shocked or alarmed and did nothing to help Star. She appeared disappointed. Leaning over my lifeless friend, she closed her eyelids before reciting the time of death. Six thirty-seven.
I had to find a way to save her. I couldn’t let this be Star’s future… her end.
On my way back to my room after another grueling day of training, I took a detour to the fourth floor. No particular reason why, other than maybe I could reason with Mom. I had struck out with Dad, but maybe Mom would be sympathetic to my plight of letting Dash go, calling off this stupid manhunt. If Mom and I ganged up on Dad, there was no way he could say no.
It had crossed my mind to enlist Ember, but I wrote her off as a lost cause. For reasons I didn’t understand, my sister hated me. She took sister rivalry to a new level of crazy. So that left Mom.
When the elevator doors dinged and opened on the fourth floor, I turned to Saber (my guard for the day) and grinned.
“What are you up to?” he asked. “This isn’t the housing unit.”
“Duh. I’m going to see my mom. There’s no need for you to follow me.”
Saber, to my great shock, didn’t argue, and since there was only one way in and out of the lab, he really had no reason to. Leaning a shoulder against the wall, he shot up a what-are-you-waiting-for brow at me.
I rolled my eyes and went inside the glass doors. What a meathead.
The lab was like a rat maze. Pristine white halls stemmed off each other with doors and windows lining both sides. Having only been here once before, the layout was unfamiliar. Eventually I was bound to come across the right room. I peeked into each large window as I passed, running my hand along the cool wall. The structure of the Institute was impressive—more modernized than anything I’d seen out in the Heights. I mean, just having electricity and plumbing was huge. It felt almost normal, minus all the supernatural stuff that went on.
I listened to the clap, clap, clap of my shoes and rubbed my hands up and down my arms. Why is this place so stinkin’ cold? It reminded me of the holding houses, and I didn’t like the feeling.
I turned the corner and hesitated, a noise capturing my attention. Muffled voices traveled down the corridor. I glanced over my shoulder to make sure I was alone, and my ever-present babysitter hadn’t decided to follow me after all. There was no one in sight. The fourth floor was the only unguarded area but had the most security, with keypads on every door. They were definitely trying to keep people out … or in.
Hugging the wall, I inched silently closer to the voices until I could make out what they were saying and identify who they were.
My parents.
Whatever they were talking about, they didn’t want anyone to overhear. The door to this particular lab was ajar just slightly, as if my father had forgotten to close it behind him or he hadn’t intended to stay long.
I wedged myself into the corner by the door. “How is she?” Mom asked.
“Charlotte is just fine,” my father assured her.
I had to snuff out the snort that rose up my nose. My father didn’t know jack about how I was really doing. He never took the time to see for himself. All he really seemed to care about these days was my chart and what I could do in the training room.
“And Ember? Is she still giving Charlotte a hard time?”
“Ember is Ember, full of determination and tough love.”
Is that what he called it? My sister was a bully with an authority complex. One day karma would knock on her door.
“Do you think he’ll come back for her?”
They had to be talking about Dash. I knew it.
“No,” Dad said sharply. “He isn’t someone who thinks of others. He is long gone. My guards haven’t been able to locate him since the last run-in. He’s in hiding, where—if he is smart—he will stay.”
“They seem to care for each other,” Mom added, not as convinced as my father.
“Dash cares only about himself,” Dad scoffed, disdain in his tone. “He used Charlotte. I won’t let him anywhere near her again. He would only disappoint her, hurt her. We’re sparing her the heartache. She is young, and there is plenty of time for her to develop feelings for another boy. I’ve noticed that she’s been spending time with Ryker.”
So my father approved of him, but not Dash. Good to know.
“
If they were together—”
“I’m not going to let that happen. She is here, with us, and he isn’t coming back on his own, but make no mistake, I will find him,” Dad said with determination.
“We need him. His DNA is too important. I am so close. The others I’ve tested on are showing signs of success. There haven’t been any side effects of concern. I have a good feeling about this. It is what we’ve been working toward.”
I gasped, my hand flying over my mouth to keep from making any other noise that might get me detected. Oh. My. God. They were experimenting on people with abilities. But why?
“You’ve replicated their DNA?” Excitement laced Dad’s words.
“Yes, I’ve been able to isolate the mutated strand sequence that gives them the abilities. We’re moving into the testing stages. I can start administrating injections in a few days. We’ve been able to harvest cells from all of the Gifted that have come into the Institute, except of course Dash and Charlotte.”
“Charlotte’s cells were unusable, you said. We’ll just have to try again. There is something special about her. She isn’t using her abilities to their fullest potential.”
“Give her time, Ethan. She has been through an enormous amount of change. It will come. We must be patient with her.”
“It concerns me—her wish to protect the Slayer. I don’t want her to do anything that could put her in danger.”
“She is a smart girl,” Mom said.
“And that’s what worries me. Charlotte is resourceful and cautious. She doesn’t trust us yet. He managed to get inside her head and fill it with doubt.”
I was about to burst into the room and tell them both they knew nothing and badmouthing Dash wasn’t going to make me trust them, when a hand landed on my shoulder. I jumped, whacking my head on the wall.
Ember stood beside me, grinning like a fool, doing her best not to laugh and failing. “Hey, sis. Fancy meeting you here. Hear anything interesting? Let me guess. They’re talking about you. It’s all they ever talk about anymore.”