‘You were going to tell us about the bridge?’ I prompt him.
‘Yes, it’s the entry and exit room for the facility. It’s your only way out and you need to get in there to meet my contact who’s coming to get you. Once you’re out of here, you should stay with them. We don’t fully understand the consequences of the experiments yet. You need help that only they can give.’
He moves back to the door, but I reach out and grab his arm. ‘Wait, are you leaving us?’
His eyes soften. ‘I need to create a distraction as the bridge will be guarded, but I’ll be back.’ He glances at his cuff. ‘The contact is meeting you at 1:00 A.M., which is in twenty minutes time, but we should aim to leave here ten minutes before that. If I’m not back…’
‘You’ll be back,’ I say, my words sounding more certain than I feel. Anything could happen in the next twenty minutes.
‘If I’m not…’
‘Here,’ I rush over to one of the desks in the room and grab a piece of paper to draw his grandfather’s message on. I easily recall the strange design, a thick vertical black line with a triangle hanging from the top. I have no idea what it could mean, but it must mean something to Aiden. Once I’ve drawn it, I carefully fold the piece of paper and turn to hold it out to him. ‘You should have this.’
He looks at the piece of paper in my hands eagerly, then shakes his head. ‘No, I’ll be back in time.’
‘Aiden, you should take it.’ I try to put it in his hands, but he refuses to accept it.
‘No, not until you’re safely in the hands of the people who are getting you out of here.’
‘Okay,’ I say, putting it in my pocket. ‘You should go. We haven’t got long.’
‘It should only take me ten minutes, but if I’m not back—’
‘We’ll go,’ I say, finishing his sentence. ‘You’ll be back. We’ll see you soon.’
At least, I hope we will.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Aiden disappears out the door and I place Kelsey up on one of the benches, jumping up to sit on it next to her. The lab seems similar to Aiden’s. Then again, all labs in this place look the same to me.
It’s unnerving being in such a large and darkened space so late at night with no one else around. I keep an ear out for Aiden’s return, but so far there’s been nothing.
As I wait, I continually eye the inhibitor band Aiden put on my wrist. What happened earlier was completely out of my control. I had no idea what was inside of me—I guess I still don’t know what is. If what Aiden said is anything to go by, whatever they’ve put inside me is completely unnatural and too much for me to handle.
I run my fingers along the black band. It’s strange how one small item could make such a large change in me. I shake my head. It is way less strange than a talent that can create a blizzard.
I check the time on the clock that hangs on the wall. Aiden still has time to get back here, before we need to leave. I can’t imagine what kind of distraction he’s thinking of. Half the facility is blacked out and all of the staff have been told to stay in their rooms. What more of a distraction would you need than that?
I try not to worry about what he’s got planned or the possibility the recruiters won’t leave their post by the bridge, but it’s kind of hard not to. So many things could happen now and the chances of us getting out seem slim to none at all.
I look down at Kelsey who has fallen asleep, her body is curled up and her head rests on my lap. For her sake, I hope we get out of here. If they did something to her, because of me, I’d never forgive myself.
Another five minutes passes with no change. ‘What is he doing?’ I mutter, under my breath.
What if the person coming to rescue us arrives and we’re not there? Will they leave without us? What if the squad arrives and finds us before we have a chance to escape?
I need to stop freaking out now, but looking at the time only makes me worry even more. Tonight has already been such a disaster, but it could still get worse from here.
Would removing the inhibitor band help? Would it protect us if I were able to use whatever talent I have inside? What if it’s our only way out?
I lift my hand to slowly take it off my wrist.
‘You shouldn’t do that,’ Kelsey says, stifling a yawn.
‘You don’t think?’ I ask her.
She shakes her head and I place my hand back down by my side. She’s probably right. It would only end badly. I look at the clock again. What is Aiden doing?
I stand and creep over to the door, opening it just a crack to have a look into the hallway. It’s just as silent and dark out there as when we came through it.
A loud siren blares and I quickly close the door. He’s done it. Well, he’s done something. I check the time. He only has minutes to get back here though.
‘We will be leaving in a minute,’ I tell Kelsey, lifting her down from the table and getting her to follow me back to the door.
I try to listen for movement outside the room, but it’s useless with the siren whooping loudly in the hallway. For a moment, I consider the band on my wrist again, but quickly dismiss any thoughts of taking it off. Removing the band is a last resort.
Glancing over my shoulder at the clock on the wall behind me, I check the time again. We have ten minutes until we need to meet Aiden’s contact. We can’t wait for him any longer. We have to leave now if we want to make it to the bridge in time.
I grasp the door handle and open the door, taking a cautious step as I lean out into the corridor and check for Aiden. There’s no sign of him and my shoulders slouch with disappointment. We’ll have to do this alone.
I take Kelsey’s hand and lead her from the lab. We hurry to the junction at the end of the corridor, Kelsey having to run beside me to keep up with my quick pace. My heart beats unsteadily as I check over my shoulder into the empty passage behind us. There’s still no sign of Aiden there.
When we reach the end of the corridor I pause before the junction. I’m about to peer out when Kelsey tugs my arm. I look down to find her shaking her head at me.
‘We don’t have any other choice,’ I whisper. I glance around the corner and the corridor is empty. I pull back and pause before quickly checking again. Yes, there’s no one there.
My fingers toy with the band on my wrist and I chew on my lower lip as I consider the device. I was only out of control when I’d been threatened earlier, maybe it will be useful to have it off just in case?
Before I can talk myself out of it, I take the band from my wrist and put it in my pocket.
The feeling of my talent being freed comes immediately. My blood feels electric in my body, surging powerfully through me and my hands feel like they are sparking with unbridled energy. I feel powerful yet overpowered all at once. It’s brilliant and completely terrifying.
‘Follow me, but not too closely,’ I tell Kelsey, fearing if she comes too close I might hurt her.
I take cautious steps around the corner and my eyes latch onto the door before us. It’s tantalisingly near and my heartbeat becomes quicker with each step closer we take. Energy ripples in the air around my fingers and I feel like I could almost reach out and grasp it if I tried.
I glance over at Kelsey who follows several steps behind me. She seems afraid and I wish I could hold her hand through this, but it feels too risky. Her eyes widen at something over my shoulder and a small gasp issues from her mouth. I whip my head around just as a recruiter grabs hold of my wrist.
‘Are you the one they’ve been searching for?’ He lifts his cuff to his mouth to talk into it, but my body reacts instinctively. The static energy I feel pulsing through my blood races through me towards the man’s hand as it tightly grips my wrist.
It sizzles through the contact between us and I can feel the energy violently rippling across our connection. I don’t know how to control it. I don’t know how to stop it. I try to shake him off of me, but his grip on my wrist tightens as a thick layer of frost slowly covers his fingertips and work
s its way up his arm. His skin turns blue as icicles form on the hairs that cover his skin.
I jerk my wrist away from him, but it only seems to make it worse. Tiny sparks of electricity jump along the contact between us and they only grow larger in size, the longer he holds on.
The man screams and releases me. He drops to the floor writhing, as his body becomes half encased in ice and alight with electricity that dances across his skin like a storm of tiny thunderbolts. Eventually, he stops moving and I stagger backwards from him in shock.
I look up as Aiden races around the corner and pulls to a stop. ‘I-I didn’t mean to do that,’ I stammer, looking back down at the man. ‘I w-was scared and it just happened. I couldn’t control it.’
‘Get your inhibitor back on,’ Aiden says, rushing to the man’s side.
My hands shake as they fumble to grab the inhibitor out of my pocket and put it back on my wrist. I am calmer once it’s back on, knowing my wild talents are contained again, but I still feel consumed by self-loathing at what I’ve done.
Aiden crouches beside the recruiter, placing two fingers against his neck. ‘He’s still alive. Barely, but he’s still alive.’ He stands and walks over to me. ‘Elle, you can’t blame yourself. It was an accident.’
‘Was it?’ I whisper. ‘I knew taking that band off could end in someone getting hurt and yet I did it.’
‘Here.’ Aiden passes me a handkerchief and nods at my face. I frown and touch my nose. When I look at my fingers, the tips are covered in blood.
‘Thanks,’ I say, taking the handkerchief from him and pressing it against my nose.
‘Is he sleeping?’ Kelsey asks, in a small voice.
My stomach plummets as I look behind me. I’d forgotten she was there and the thought of her seeing what I’ve done makes me feel an intense wave of remorse.
Aiden saves me from answering. ‘For a little while,’ he says. He looks at his cuff, then to me. ‘There are only a few more minutes until they arrive.’
We approach the door to the bridge, and Aiden places his cuff against the sensor by the door. I wait for the small beeping noise that the cuff has been accepted to sound, but nothing happens.
‘What do we do?’ I ask Aiden.
He looks as baffled as I am. ‘I don’t know,’ he replies. ‘My CommuCuff should work.’ He places his cuff against the sensor again and once more it is rejected.
‘The man has to open it,’ Kelsey says.
We both look at her. ‘What man?’
‘The man on the other side.’
Aiden frowns at me.
‘How do you know that?’ I ask.
An element of doubt crosses her face and she looks down at her bare feet. ‘Just a feeling.’
I crouch down so I’m eye level with her. ‘Do you know when he will open it?’
She shakes her head.
Aiden bangs his fist against the door, but no one answers.
‘Will you come with us?’ I ask him.
‘No, my people need someone inside the hospital, but I’ll see you safely out of here first.’
‘Your people?’ I shake my head, dismissing the question. ‘Aiden you should go before you get caught with us. We’ll be fine waiting here until the door is open.’
He looks torn when he turns to face me. ‘I want to make sure you get out of here.’ He bangs his fist on the door again. ‘Hello?’ he shouts.
‘You’ve done more than enough. Please go before you get in trouble. Here,’ I stand and pass him the message from his grandfather that was tucked up in my pocket. ‘I hope this was worth it.’
He grabs the paper eagerly, but doesn’t open it. ‘I didn’t need this for it to be worth it. If I’d known who you were when you first barged into my lab, I would’ve helped without question. You deserve better than this Elle, you both do.’ He pauses, looking at me closely, like he’s imagining all the things they have done to me.
I fidget under the intensity of his gaze and look down at the paper, still folded in his hands. ‘Are you going to open it?’ I ask.
He smiles and nods, carefully opening the paper to look at the symbol drawn on the page. He frowns though and a look of utter confusion crosses his face.
‘Are you sure this is the message?’ he asks.
‘Yes. I have no idea what it means though.’
He shakes his head. ‘Neither do I … unless …’
‘Unless what?’ I ask, when he doesn’t say anything more.
He studies the page closely, and then turns it around the other way as his eyes light up. ‘He did it!’
‘Did what?’
He brings the page over to me to show me the meaningless symbol I’ve drawn. ‘It’s an ancient rune,’ he says, looking at me like the explanation for this is obvious. ‘I should’ve recognised it as soon as I saw it. Grandad spent my entire childhood telling me stories and teaching me different runes. I was obsessed with them, but haven’t looked at one in years.’
‘But what does it mean?’ I ask.
‘This bit here,’ he points to the long stick I’ve drawn, ‘it means a wound. But, when joined with this bit here,’ he points to the triangle, ‘it means healing.’
‘So…’
‘When the two are combined together it means cure, which means my grandfather must have found it. It has to.’
‘What cure?’
‘What the doctors in here should be looking for: a way to stop the mutations altogether. If this is the cure, people in the ARC could return to the surface.’ The excitement on his face drops and his skin pales. ‘My grandfather’s found the cure…’
‘What’s wrong?’
‘I need to come with you, but there’s someone I need to get!’
‘What? Who?’
‘I don’t have time to explain,’ he groans. ‘But if there’s any chance of a cure outside the walls of this hospital, she needs to leave tonight.’ He starts running away from us, back towards the darkened corridor we’d just come down. ‘Tell them to wait!’
As soon as he’s around the corner though, the doorhandle rattles and the door to the bridge opens.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
‘Are you Elle?’ the man standing in the doorway booms. His voice is strong and deep, and that only makes his giant frame even more intimidating. The guy is huge. He has an array of fearsome tattoos that cover his dark skin and he wears the kind of expression that would make the sturdiest recruiter re-evaluate their choice if pitted against him.
I nod, at a loss for words.
‘This way,’ he says. He stands back to reveal the bridge, which looks nothing like an actual bridge, but rather a small, empty room. Well, nearly empty.
‘Beth?’ I ask, as I enter the room and move past the man with Kelsey.
Beth runs towards me and throws her arms around my neck. ‘I’ve been so worried!’ she exclaims.
I immediately pull back and look at her closely. Did she hit her head? There’s no way she would normally be this happy to see me. What is she even doing here? How did she get involved in this?
‘You’re Aiden’s contact?’ I ask her. ‘How did you get here?’
‘There’ll be time for explanations later,’ she says. ‘We have to go.’
I glance back at the open doorway we’ve just come through. ‘No, we can’t go yet. Aiden told us to wait, he has to get someone and he’ll be back any minute now.’
Beth barely bats an eyelid to consider what I’ve said. ‘We can’t wait. They’ve sent the squad and there aren’t enough of us to fight them. Dalton,’ she nods her head at the massive man who stands behind me, ‘needs to open a window and we have to go.’
I stammer as I try to think of a way to stall Beth so Aiden has time to return, but she continues. ‘The guy on the other side can’t hold the bridge room for much longer. Let’s go,’ she commands Dalton.
Dalton walks up to the back wall and reaches his finger out to touch it. The tip of his forefinger glows blue and as he guides it up the wall a glo
wing trail appears in its wake. He continues slowly tracing until he’s created a shimmering outline the size of a large door, which looks like it’s been drawn on the wall with some kind of iridescent paint.
He places his other hand on the inside of the outline. Once it’s pressed firmly against the wall it glows a bright and unearthly hue of blue and everything behind it dissolves like tiny grains of sand running through his fingers until there’s nothing left at all.
A white room, almost identical to this one, is revealed on the other side. There’s almost a shimmer to the air between the rooms and I can vaguely see the texture of the solid wall that was there before.
‘Okay, you can go through,’ Dalton says.
I look over my shoulder to the open doorway behind me and try to see if Aiden is on his way, but the doorway remains empty and there’s no sign of him. He won’t make it.
‘Elle!’ Beth grabs my arm, but I quickly yank it out of her grasp. ‘We have to leave,’ she urges.
My gaze darts to the doorway one last time. As I focus on the empty space, the alarm out in the hallway stops and an unnerving silence follows.
‘We can’t wait for him any longer. We have to go,’ Beth says, her voice quieter and more urgent than before.
‘I can’t just leave him here,’ I say. ‘What if they find out he helped me escape?’
‘If we don’t leave now, none of us will be getting out. There’s no way to know how far off he is or if he hasn’t already been caught. Stop wasting time. People will get hurt the longer you stall. Don’t make me use my talent on you,’ she threatens.
‘I thought you were an untalent?’
Beth raises an eyebrow at me.
‘Right, obviously not,’ I reply. ‘Please, isn’t there something we can do?’
Beth sighs. ‘Look, as soon as you’re out safely I’ll see if we can send someone back for him, but right now we have to go.’
I watch her closely, and she seems sincere about sending someone for Aiden. ‘Okay. We’ll come.’
I walk towards Dalton, my hand gripped tightly around Kelsey’s. Each step I take makes me feel increasingly guilty. I don’t want to leave Aiden behind after he helped me, but Beth is right. He may already be caught. There’s no way to know.
The ARC 03: Fractured Page 9