by Sarah Noffke
Chapter Thirty-Six
One stone door stands between Aiden and me. After the longest week of my life everything is going to shift. I wished I could say it was going to get better, but I don’t know exactly what lies on the other side of that door. And there’s still so much that lies between the guy inside that room and me. Will he still know me? Care for me? And will I still love him?
“Are you ready?” Joseph says at my side. His eyes are pinned on the door the same as mine, but he’s not worried about the same things as me.
“Yeah,” I whisper, pressing the side of my face against the cold stone. Nothing greets my ear. Stepping back I gauge the door. “What’s the trick?” I ask without looking at Joseph.
“Maybe nothing,” he says, scanning the rollers along the door. “Appears about like the other doors in here.”
“Let’s hope appearances aren’t deceiving.”
I push against the stone, and it engages in its track where it groans before allowing me to guide it backward. Like the doors in the Institute it glides into a recess inside the cave walls. The light from the connecting room flickers across my vision; it’s more brightly lit than the cave-way. An almost bare room stands before me, save for the slumped figure in a metal chair.
A thousand years could pass and I would still recognize him. Feet I forgot I possessed rush forward, magnetized to the guy before me. I hear the door glide back shut. That’s not all I hear. Aiden’s breath, a quiet rasp. Each one’s trying to hold him to the earth, but I feel the drain he’s suffering from. For too long I stare at his wilting figure, metal-encased head slumped over his lap, arms pulling him down by an unnatural weight. Aiden sits, bony and mostly naked in his boxer shorts. My eyes have a hard time resisting exploring the parts of him which have always made me curious. I shake this off and step closer.
The dream blocker makes his face look absurdly small. His arms look too long as they trail beside him. That’s when I notice his hands are encased in silver boxes locked around his wrist. He looks like half man, half robot. But the bruises and cuts scattered all over his chest and arms remind me that he’s no machine. Under all that metal is Aiden. My Aiden.
Longing in my heart breaks out of the cage where I banished it, charging forward. All at once I realize Aiden makes me human. Before him I thought I was a freak. And since my life started with the Lucidites I’ve felt supernatural. But Aiden makes me weak and vulnerable and absolutely perfect in all of my flaws. He makes me feel human.
Too long I soak in his lonely figure. I know my team is watching behind me, questioning my paralysis. With his eyes still closed he rubs his metal-encased hands against his metal-encased head, causing the worst screeching sound imaginable. It’s the one I heard when I entered the Grotte.
My body is a surreal distance from him. In all my recent dreams I’ve imagined closing this space a hundred times. In each one he vaporizes within my arms. Too afraid to lose him again I hang back, not touching him. My words a cautious whisper. “Aiden, it’s me. It’s Roya. I’m here. I’m going to take you home.”
His clunky metal hands fall, loosely swinging by his side. A baffled look on his face.
“Aiden, can you hear me?” I ask, looking closely for a response in his expression.
Nothing.
With steady hands I jerk the helmet that has been holding him captive off his head. My attention is on him before I even place the dream blocker on the ground. One of his eyes is almost swollen shut, blackened. Long cuts line one of his cheeks. “Oh, what have they done to you?” I shudder.
Blue eyes jerk open, sincere disbelief in them. I halt my words, my actions. I’m petrified, but not like with Chase. I can still move if I want to, but I don’t want to. I’m suspended in time, and forever and ever I want to live in this moment where all my nightmares have been put to rest. In this place where Aiden is whole and safe and next to me. But this reality must be short-lived, because the only way to rescue Aiden is to let him go.
“It’s time to get you out of here,” I say, all business. “You’re free. Go home now,” I tell him, my eyes barely meeting his as I turn back to watch my team shuffle uncomfortably behind me.
“Roya,” he says, his voice a coarse whisper. “This isn’t real. You aren’t here, are you?” His hand comes up to touch my face, but fear surges through him before he makes contact, sending his metal-covered hand back to his body.
The torment he’s experienced is all too apparent on his lined face. It echoes through my heart like an off-key broken instrument. All my restraint wavers in that moment. My eyes sweep across Trent, Samara, and finally Joseph. I’ve traveled and lost so much for this guy who’s valuable to the Institute. But to me he’s priceless. “To hell with pretenses,” I say, and throw hungry arms around him. “It’s me, Aiden. I’m here to take you home.”
A jolt rocks his chest, one so brief and sudden I question whether I actually felt it. Still he hesitates before sinking his chin down into my shoulder, burying his face in my hair. He takes great care to keep his metal enclosed hands off me, but still his arms slide across my back, tugging me into him with an intensity I’ve dreamed about too many times.
“Oh, God, Roya,” he says in a hush, one only I can hear. “This can’t be real. Please tell me it is.”
I ease back, pressing my forehead against his, which is coated in sweat. Just as much as him, I need to know this is real, because I still don’t believe it. Not until his cracked lips graze mine, a thoughtful purity behind them, do I believe he’s real. Nothing feels like Aiden. Nothing ever could.
I pull back, knowing we have to act before we lose our chance. Samara, Trent, and Joseph pretend to be studying the room, but I spy the awkwardness in their actions. Oh well. If we all live then I’ll deal with this then. I’ll face their questions proudly. Hopefully Aiden will too.
Composing myself, I stare down at Aiden. “We don’t have much time. You need to travel to the Institute. Now.”
A deranged look sprints across his face. “Are you coming?”
“Yes,” I say, looking into his eyes, the ones I’ve missed so much. “But you have to go first.”
He nods, looking weak and frail, but still amazing. Remembering something, I reach down and pick up the dream blocker. His body repulses at once. “You have to take it back. It’s yours. None of us can do it,” I say, hurt by the look in his scared eyes. The hesitation subsides and he puts his metal encased hands on it, pressing it into his lap. “Yes, of course,” he says in a voice so strong it captures my heart.
“Go now,” I say again, pushing the hair out of his face. He nods and closes his eyes, bowing his head down so it almost meets the dream blocker in his lap. My hand stays on his cold shoulder until his body disappears, like dust being swept away by a soft wind. When the last bit of him vanishes, I straighten. My job is done. Aiden is safe. He’s at the Institute.
The space feels quieter without Aiden. Empty. Glancing up to the team, I already know what I’ll see. Nervous tension. “Yeah, well, if you didn’t know, now you do. Keep your traps shut about it and get the hell out of this place,” I say, knotting my arms across my chest.
“Guess that explains why you keep brushing me off. Thought I was beginning to lose my charm. And your secret is safe with me,” Trent says with a salute. “Beam me up, Scotty.” He closes his eyes and disappears faster than either George or Aiden. I know he’s happy to be going home.
“Ditto to what Trent said,” Samara says. Her eyelids gracefully close off her pained, gray eyes. I know her battle isn’t over, but I hope her agony will subside when she returns to the Institute.
Both their bodies disappear within a minute, leaving Joseph and me anxiously staring at each other.
“Your turn,” I say.
He squints through the darkness. “I don’t want to leave you. Let’s go together.”
“No, we have to take turns generating. And I’m the leader. I need to make sure your body remains safe until the process is complete,” I arg
ue. “You go first and I’ll meet you there. I’m safe in here. Just go.”
“What about your body? Who watches over you?”
“God, I guess,” I say with a smirk.
“Not funny, sis.”
“We’re wasting time. Will you please get out of here?”
Reluctantly he closes his eyes. “I’m only doing this because I know if I don’t you’ll kick my ass,” he says, half laughing.
“Get out of here already,” I say.
“I’m already gone,” he says. And a few seconds later I see the first particles of his body begin to sweep away.
Completed. I actually completed this impossible mission. A quiet victory constricts my throat with tears I didn’t realize lived within my body. I haven’t cried…since he was abducted. Since I stood up to this challenge. But now my tears mean something new. They mean I persevered. I’m a human who can do things I shouldn’t be able to and still live to tell about them. My eyes close, my mind ready to transport me, and then the wheels on the track screech.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Jerking away from my travels, I focus on the door in front of me. It slowly glides back to reveal an enemy. I consider ignoring the intrusion and escaping, but that would only put me in the blind position of having my body ransacked by whatever demon enters this space. It’s too late to dream travel. I have to face whatever appears on the other side of that door. And I have to do it alone. I wait for the person to materialize. It takes an eternity for the stone door to inch back on its track. Is it Chase? Will I be banished to live out the rest of my days as his concubine? A part of me thinks there are worse fates. I shake my head. What am I thinking?
The face that stares back at me from the doorway takes a moment to compute in my mind. I should have expected it. Of course I should have, but my mind isn’t working in a logical manner anymore. Her brown eyes stare back at me, an evil in them I was never acquainted with before this moment. It was always there, lurking beneath the surface, a hidden part of her she disguised. I should have seen it. We all should have seen it. Then none of this would have happened.
“Well, I guess you’ve saved him,” Amber says without much effort.
Vengeance courses through me, so pure and satisfying. I’m glad I stayed until this moment just so I can break her pinched little nose. “Yeah, I guess I have,” I say.
“No real loss for us though,” she says evenly. “He was kind of useless. I was hoping he’d be a bit more compliant.”
I scrunch up my nose. “Sounds like you didn’t know him well.”
She narrows her eyes and lunges at me, her braid sweeping over her shoulder. I stand, not moving from my position. Her fist rises into the air, stopping a breath away from my face. I still don’t flinch. She steps back, anger flashing in her eyes.
“You’re too weak to hit someone. We both know that,” I say.
“Shut up,” she says, a ridiculous frustration in her voice. Now would be a good time to punch her in the face, but I want to wait until I’ve thoroughly pissed her off. Then I’ll knock her out and head home.
“So you were hoping for a promotion out of this whole thing?” I say, remembering what Samara had said.
“I always knew you’d be a problem,” Amber says, staring down at me from her high vantage point. “Since that first task, I knew you’d get in my way. Should have done away with you then. The Lucidites might treasure you, others might be confused about your usefulness, but I’m not deceived. You’re trash.”
Hungry for this battle I step forward, cutting the space between us short. “Oh, please don’t think you need to tell me this. I’ve never wanted anything. But the real question is what you want. What are you after? Since you abducted Aiden I think the least you owe me is an explanation.”
She laughs. It’s insincere, like everything about her. “You care about him. I see it in the way you look at him. We both know Aiden won’t compromise his career for anything, especially you. You’re nothing more than the girl who died to save him. And what I wanted is useless at this point, because you’ve ruined it.” From her back waistband she whips a gun out and holds it steadily in front of my face. Ice runs through my veins, freezing me in place.
“Whoa!” I say, taking several steps back, mind-blocking fear assaulting me suddenly. “Come on, it doesn’t have to be this way.”
“Is this where you beg for your life?” Amber says, arms straight, shoulders down. Sadly, she looks quite comfortable holding the gun, like she actually knows how to use it.
“This is where I beg you to stop acting like a lunatic. Whatever you’re after, it isn’t worth this.” I sidestep to the left, taking my body out of the path of the gun. She mirrors my action, aiming again at me.
“You have no idea what ‘what I want’ is worth.”
“Then tell me what it is. Maybe I can help you.” Another sidestep.
“You don’t get it. I already did what I was supposed to do. I suffered at the Institute, captured Aiden, completed my end of the bargain and did it matter? No. Maybe if I had psychic powers I would have known it was never going to work out. Do you know how incredibly demoralizing it is to risk everything for something and still not get it?”
“The promotion? Is that what you mean?” Another sidestep. We’ve now made a half circle, but none of my attempts to move have worked. Amber stands as rigid as ever, the barrel of her gun pointed at my heart.
She laughs, a cold and sad sound. “Promotion? You keep saying that. Where did you get such a stupid idea? Yes, what I wanted was a position, but not a professional one. But I was led on, deceived to believe if I did all this...” Her eyes flash with a new hostility. “None of that matters now and it sure as hell isn’t your business. All that matters is that if I can’t have what I want then no one will have what they want.” She pulls back the hammer on the gun until it locks in place.
I can’t battle a gun. Wind can’t get me out of this. The escrima stick in my hand is a sad joke now. How strange it is that this vermin of a person will be the one to kill me. After all the danger I’ve faced in the last few hours I’m about to meet death by a bullet. It’s absurd and stupid.
“Look, I’m not a part of this feud. I’m only doing a job, so why don’t you lower your gun and let me go?”
“You’re more a part of this than you can ever imagine. Unfortunately for you, you’re not going to live long enough to figure that out.”
A flash momentarily takes over my vision. Never before has a premonition carried such critical information. Slowly I turn my head, looking at the empty doorway behind me.
“Don’t think about running,” Amber says, amusement in her tone. “I will shoot you in the back.”
I meet her eyes with a calculated gaze, careful not to look at the weapon in her hands, which robs me of my remaining courage. A breath later the countdown sounds off in my head. One. I take one deliberate step, aligning myself perfectly with the doorway. Two. Amber mirrors my step so she’s standing directly in front of me. Three. I drop my body to the cold limestone. Amber doesn’t have a chance to react. Allouette’s knife, targeted at my back, speeds overhead, striking Amber in the chest. Confused horror rips across her face. The gun slips from her hands, clattering to the stone ground. Her shaking hands clutch the knife, and for an instant I think she’s going to pull it out. Then quite suddenly she slumps to the ground, leaning her back against the chair where Aiden had been. A convulsion rakes her body and again she grips the knife in her chest, tangible pain streaking her face.
Still face down on the ground I allow myself to finally take a breath. Amber isn’t dead yet, but she will be soon. I don’t have a second to spare. Instantly, I’m on the stone door, pushing it closed. I only have one more option to get me out of here. Allouette is close. She’ll be in here soon if I don’t stop her. Quickly I pull out the modifier and open it. My fingers shake as I type in Allouette’s name. When that has been accepted I put in a message:
Roya is dead.
The modifier rises into the air, glows like it’s about to catch on fire, and just before it bursts into flames, recedes back into my palm where it lies cold as stone. Hopefully Allouette pauses to celebrate. Hopefully this will buy me some time. Soon she’ll be here and I don’t need to waste time.
Amber’s eyes are now closed, her chest no longer rising and falling with urgent breaths. She’s dead. Dead bodies don’t look right, especially when the instrument that killed them still protrudes from their flesh.
Closing my eyes I focus my attention on the Institute. Each passing second is accompanied by a loud pulse in my head. The task of dream traveling to the Institute should be easy, but the anxiety robs me of the necessary concentration. Finally the silver tunnel opens, sucking me in with one giant breath. Too tired to enjoy the ride I fade into oblivion.
The blinding lights of Aiden’s lab greet me. A dozen people stand in the space. James is already setting the dials on the GAD-C and within seconds my body is set for auto-generation. Glad not to have had to do the process myself, I close my eyes and wait for the now familiar reunion of body and spirit to happen. A jolt assaults my core, more painful than any time before when I’ve generated my body.
Anxious to rejoin my team I bolt into an upright position. Everything is wrong about the sensation, like my body isn’t meant for that. Did something go wrong with the GAD-C? Is my body deformed?
Joseph’s and Trey’s faces are the first to swim into my line of vision, only a step away. Their eyes are wide. Horror written in them. Everything slows painfully down. Each movement takes an excruciatingly long time in my mind to process. Joseph’s hands rise to his face, covering his mouth which has dropped in sudden disbelief. But I can’t understand what he doesn’t believe or why Trey looks terribly shocked. And my ears have quit working. All I hear is ringing. Persistent, aching ringing. Attempting to sit up more I’m met with a violent stabbing in my core. It’s a blinding pain, so intense my head spins. Confused, my eyes travel down and everything becomes devastatingly clear. I’ve been shot.