As Landon moved closer, Washington expelled strange guttural noises as he labored for air. “You honestly believe that a man who’s spent twenty-five years of his life to get the power he feels entitled to is going to share it?” Landon said sternly. “You think your devotion will somehow pay off in the end?” His voice boomed with resounding conviction. “The truth of the matter is, Washington Sykes, he’s been using you just as long, if not longer, than he’s been using me. And if you don’t see it, you’re much less clever than I gave you credit for.” Landon paused for a moment to allow his words to sink in. “Just tell me where he is.”
Washington’s lips quivered and tears streamed from his eyes, forced out by the strain of Landon’s grip. Landon was clamping down on him so tightly he was slowly squeezing the life out of him. In almost a whisper, he said, “Do whatever you want to me, but you can’t stop the inevitable!”
Landon froze. The words pierced him, arresting him completely as he suddenly comprehended the reality of his actions. He was gobsmacked. He’d somehow become the bully, the one attacking those too weak to defend themselves against his domineering power. I’ve turned into him.
The revelation broke his connection with his abilities, causing him to suddenly lose his grasp on Washington, who fell to the floor; he stumbled, but managed to stay upright. Hunched over, Washington breathed heavily as air returned freely to his lungs.
Landon moved backward hesitantly and looked horror-struck at what he’d done. He didn’t know how he’d live with himself if he’d actually killed him. Even though Washington worked with Dr. Brighton and was an active participant in this grand scheme, Landon could never kill him.
Abruptly, an excruciating pain seared Landon’s body. He screamed in agony as he fell to the floor, curling into a ball as the pain coursed through him. He tingled all over. His skin burned; his head pounded. It felt like someone had lowered him into a bath of molten metal while forcing acid down his throat, scalding him in several places at once. Landon knew he was about to pass out and he welcomed the relief. He would do anything to escape from such debilitating agony. Then the pain subsided, coiling back into its hole, leaving Landon tense and exhausted. Sweat covered his body, he panted heavily, and his muscles twitched uncontrollably.
“Impossible.” Washington stared at Landon as if he were a specter from his past. His mouth hung open and his eyes bulged with revelation.
The tormenting pain rekindled inside Landon with unfathomable force. He writhed in agony as bloodcurdling screams forced their way from his body. Every muscle in his body tensed, pulling him in tightly. The torturous stings of agony pierced him like a thousand knives. Even the cooling tears wrung from his eyes felt like napalm against his face. He would do anything to make it stop. Death would have been a welcome respite to the unbearable pain. Landon’s mind clouded again as he felt himself on the verge of losing consciousness, but again, just as he thought he couldn’t withstand another millisecond, the pain retreated, releasing him from its anguishing clutches.
Landon’s body slowly uncoiled as the residual effects subsided, and he looked up at Washington. With a quivering, childlike voice, he asked, “What are you doing to me?”
Washington hesitated. He gazed down at Landon with wonder. “It’s not me,” he said. He started to walk toward Landon with his hand outstretched like he was trying to coax an animal from its hiding place. “I can’t . . . . This is impossible,” he whispered to himself as he stepped closer. Landon had no fight left in him. He did nothing as Washington closed in on him. “Does he even know?” Washington asked softly as his fingers reached forward to touch Landon.
“Stand back!” A voice melodic yet commanding boomed through the room.
Washington instantly straightened up and took a few steps away from Landon, who still lay crumpled on the ground. The unexpected voice belonged to Sofia Petrovanya, who stood in the doorway. Her ice blue eyes pierced him with untold power, and her smooth pale skin glowed from the reflection of the light.
“Sofia, you have no—”
“Be quiet,” she commanded, halting Washington before he could finish. His mouth closed at her words. Sofia hurried across the room and knelt down beside Landon. With a gentle touch, she cradled his head in her hands. There was something so indescribably comforting about her and Landon felt safe in her presence; he knew he could trust her. “Are you all right?” she asked with concern.
“I think . . . I . . . uh . . . Dr. Brighton, he . . .”
“Shhhhhh.” The sound escaped from her lips and enveloped Landon like a warm woolen blanket, sending a wave of soothing calm through him instantly. He felt the tension in his mind and muscles relax and his panic subside. “I know,” she said softly to him. “But you need to listen carefully.” Her manner became businesslike. “There is a helicopter just over the southern range waiting for you. You must rescue Celia and get to it as fast as you can. Just follow the road. There’s no time to waste. It’s not safe here for either of you any longer.”
With renewed strength, Landon rose to his feet and looked at Sofia for a long moment. Many emotions including gratitude and wonder filled his mind, but he couldn’t find the words to express his feelings. Sofia reached out and delicately placed her hand on Landon’s shoulder. “Go,” she said evenly.
Landon followed her command without question. He sped out of the room, intent on finding Celia, rescuing her, and getting them both to this helicopter that awaited them just over the mountains. Just as he passed through the door, however, he stopped and turned back, his hand clutching the doorjamb. “What about you?” he asked nervously.
“I’ll be fine,” she replied confidently, shooting a furtive glance at Washington Sykes, who hadn’t moved an inch. “I can take care of myself.” Landon nodded but continued to stare at Sofia. “Now go, Landon,” she said forcefully. “Go and save Celia Jackson.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
THE GREAT
ESCAPE
His surroundings blurred past as Landon raced out of the Olympic Tower. He moved with unbelievable speed, weaving through the halls and across the Temple. As the heavy metal door leading out of the tower opened, Landon’s mind felt as blurry and amorphous as his current reality. He still couldn’t completely put together everything that had happened since Dr. Brighton escorted him to the pagoda in the Secret Garden or wrap his head around what was yet to come. He couldn’t figure out who was working for whom, or how everything fit together. And what was that pain? Landon asked himself. I’ve never felt anything like that before.
“Landon!” Katie Leigh rushed out from behind the pillar where he’d told her to hide. He couldn’t believe she’d actually listened to him and stayed put for so long; however, she looked a little worse for wear: Her skin was pale with worry; her eyes were red from exhaustion; and tendrils of hair stuck to her sweaty forehead. She lunged forward and wrapped her arms around Landon, squeezing him in a vice grip as if she intended to never let him go. “I was so nervous. I didn’t know what had happened to you. When I saw them take Celia . . .”
Landon pried her off of him and grabbed her by the shoulders. “Wait, you saw Celia? Where did they take her? I need to find her.”
“I—I don’t know.” Katie Leigh’s eyes looked glassy as if she were about to cry. “I waited like you told me.” Seeing her like this, Landon felt bad for getting her in this predicament. She always gave off a strong, mature vibe, but she was only thirteen and the stress of this situation had noticeably worn her down. Perhaps she wasn’t as ready for this sort of life as she’d believed. Landon let her go and stepped to the side. “What’s going on, Landon?”
“More than you could—ahhhhh!” Landon’s scream echoed through the expansive hallway of the Gymnasium as a new surge of debilitating pain coursed through his body. His vision went blurry and his muscles gave out. What is happening to me?
Katie Leigh caught him as he collapsed toward the floor; she struggled to bear his weight with her tiny body. “What’s wrong?” she yelled in panic as she clutched at Landon’s convulsing body.
Landon did nothing but try and fight the pain. It coursed through his veins like magma, igniting every nerve in his body in an unrelenting blaze of agony. Katie Leigh gripped Landon under his arms and struggled to hold him up while he screamed out again. His voice reverberated off the walls and the space around him seemed to shake. The pain became so all-consuming, Landon began to forget where or who he was.
But just when he thought he couldn’t hold on any longer, the pain receded. Landon panted with exhaustion as the last reserves of his strength were sapped from his body. He didn’t know how he would manage to rescue Celia with these unexpected waves of pain attacking out of nowhere. Where does this keep coming from?
“We have to find Celia,” he said between gasps. Tremors quaked through his body. Katie Leigh continued to support him as his quivering body still couldn’t manage on its own.
“How? She could be anywhere.”
He wracked his brain. The effects of his painful attack made it hard for him to concentrate, but he was determined to rescue Celia. If what Washington said was true, Landon was responsible for everything that had happened to her. There was no way he was going to let her down again. Celia, can you hear me? Landon reached out with his mind into the farthest vestiges of his tactometric sphere, hoping he might connect with Celia, wherever she was. Silence followed. Celia, where are you? He waited but again she didn’t respond. Landon lowered his head and felt his last ounces of hope drain from him.
“Landon,” Katie Leigh interjected after she watched Landon stare into space for a particularly long time, “how do you plan on finding her?”
Landon tried to shake off his sense of defeat. Think. Think, Landon. There has to be a way to find her. Then it hit him. He mustered his strength and straightened up, finally supporting his own weight. He looked Katie Leigh dead in the eyes. “We need Peregrine,” he said emphatically.
• • • • •
Katie Leigh and Landon emerged onto the second floor of the dormitories, headed to Peregrine’s room. Katie Leigh led the way, as Landon had no idea where her room was. To their surprise, Peregrine stood outside her door as if she’d been awaiting their arrival for some time; however, she wasn’t focusing on them. She gazed inquiringly into the distance.
Landon rushed up to her. “Peregrine, I need your help,” he said with urgency.
Peregrine lowered her head and looked at Landon through her blank, violet eyes. “There are a lot of strange things going on right now. . . . I can feel it.”
“Can you, by chance, feel where Celia is?” Landon asked. “It’s very important that I find her as fast as possible.”
Peregrine’s eyebrows cinched inward forming a perplexed expression. “What for?”
“We’re leaving,” Landon replied matter-of-factly.
“We?” Katie Leigh interjected. Landon had almost forgotten she was there. He was so intent on figuring out Celia’s whereabouts that he’d blocked out everything else.
Landon turned around to face Katie Leigh and said with authority, “Yes, we. They know who you are, Katie. They’ve known all along. It isn’t safe for us here any longer.” Katie Leigh stopped breathing. Landon, realizing the gravity of what he was saying, turned back to Peregrine. He realized this place wasn’t just unsafe for himself, Katie Leigh and Celia, but really for everyone. “You should come with us too,” he said to Peregrine.
“I . . . I need to get something,” Katie Leigh sputtered. “I’ll be back in a minute.” Without waiting for Landon or Peregrine to acknowledge her, she turned around and bolted down the hallway. Moments later she disappeared into the staircase. The sounds of her feet against the cold steps echoed through the dark, empty hallways of the dormitory.
“But . . . where would we go?” Peregrine asked, caught completely off guard.
“There’s a place for us. . . . And there’s a helicopter waiting to take us there. You have to trust me.” Landon spoke earnestly. “But we have to get there quickly. And I have to find Celia before we go.”
“But—”
Cutting her off, Landon interjected with conviction, “Look, I don’t have time to explain right now, Peregrine, but you have to trust me. This place isn’t safe for any of us.”
She looked deep into Landon’s eyes. In moments like this Landon swore her vision enabled her to see things so much stronger and more vividly than the simple things he could make out with his own eyes. A strange, buzzing sound rang in his ears as the two locked eyes for a prolonged moment, and Landon slowly lost all perception of his surroundings. The palest flecks of light seemed to shimmer in Peregrine’s amethyst eyes, mesmerizing him. The hairs on his arms stood on end as she examined him meticulously. An unknown force seemed to be pulling them closer and closer.
“All right, I’m back.” Katie Leigh panted as her feet slapped against the floor. Landon and Peregrine pulled away from each other and both turned their attention to their returning compatriot. Katie Leigh now had a backpack slung over her shoulder, and Landon could only guess what she’d stuffed inside. But a backpack wasn’t all she’d acquired. Standing right beside Katie Leigh was Riley. He wore a white t-shirt, a pair of athletic shorts that Landon presumed were his pajamas, and sneakers with no socks, and his sandy blonde hair was mussed. He’d obviously rushed to throw them on after Katie Leigh woke him suddenly.
Riley rubbed the sleep from his eyes and he peered around suspiciously. “Wha—?”
“We’re leaving the Gymnasium,” Katie Leigh explained in slow, deliberate words, ensuring they broke through the fog that still enveloped their half-asleep addition to the group.
“Huh?” Despite fighting to keep his eyes open, Riley still managed to look mystified. Katie Leigh hadn’t explained the situation to him when she rushed to retrieve him, but just told him he needed to get up and get dressed right away. Now she slapped him across the face.
“Wake up! We’re leaving the Gymnasium.” Katie Leigh said even more emphatically. “This place is dangerous and we aren’t safe. Landon’s breaking us out of here.”
“Breaking us out?” he said, perplexed. “But why?”
Katie Leigh’s usual expression of impatience returned to her face. “Just shut up and be glad we’re taking you with us,” she said, annoyed. “We don’t have time for your constant questions right now.” She rolled her eyes. It was the first time Landon saw the normal Katie Leigh emerge through the frantic teenager he’d dealt with the entire night; it cheered him a bit.
But he felt extremely guilty about Riley. Landon couldn’t believe he’d forgotten to consider including him in their slowly growing party of escapees. He knew as they headed to find Peregrine that it was only right to take Katie Leigh with him, and then soon after, realized Peregrine should be afforded the opportunity as well. What was wrong with him that he would forget to include his best friend? Not wanting to announce his failure as a friend, and still feeling remorseful, Landon turned to Katie Leigh and gave her an appreciative glance. He could tell by a nearly imperceptible nod that she understood and accepted his thanks.
“We’re wasting too much time,” Landon interjected, trying to turn the subject back to the more pressing matter at hand. “Peregrine, do you know where Celia is?” he asked point-blank.
Not missing a beat, Peregrine responded, “She’s down in the medical area . . . that big room with the two-way mirror that they take you to when you first get here. . . .” She fought to find the right words to describe the room given that her perception of it was different from what a seeing person would recognize.
Landon, however, knew the room all too well. “Room 132,” he added, remembering his time in that room under the influence of White Rabbit
, when the suppressed memories of his apocratusis raged through his mind, and the time when he discovered Dr. Pullman, a doctor of Metis Labs, dying on a gurney where he showed Landon the origins of his psychokinetic abilities from Project Prometheus.
“That’s it,” Peregrine affirmed. “But she’s not alone. That counselor woman Maureen is with her . . . and so is Dr. Wells.”
“Maureen,” Landon said softly, as a vision resurfaced of the slinky brunette carrying Celia out of the Vault like a dangling marionette.
“Maureen?” Katie Leigh interjected with a note of panic in her voice. “Like, Maureen Hammond?” She turned to Peregrine and looked her dead in the eyes. “Maureen Hammond is with Celia? This is not good.”
“Calm down, shorty,” Riley added coolly.
Katie Leigh brushed off Riley’s comment with a swipe of her hand, and turned to Landon with a nervous glint in her eyes. “I looked her up when she first got here. She is very—and I mean very—dangerous.”
Riley’s eyes jumped in confusion from one person to the other. “She’s just a shrink. What could she do?”
“She’s not just a shrink!” Katie Leigh scolded Riley directly with a furtive glance over her shoulder before adding gravely, “Landon, Maureen Hammond is the head of the Sentries! She founded them. . . . The whole initiative was her idea. You see, she has a very specialized splinter skill. If she touches you, she can make you feel whatever she wants. She can make you happy, or trusting . . . or make you experience the most excruciating pain imaginable. Either way, she is supposedly able to get whatever information she wants out of anyone. If Maureen Hammond is with Celia, she’s in horrible danger.”
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