With electrodes attached to both of us, Middleton placed a glass beaker onto the surface in front of us. “Push it,” he instructed. “Just Nadia.”
I glanced over at her. She focused on the object. It wobbled and then tipped over, rolling side to side until it came to a standstill.
“Is that all you’ve got?” he asked.
Nadia nodded and blinked several times. She was holding back tears. My anger grew. This son-of-a-bitch. I couldn’t let him get away with doing this to us. I reached out and took her hand. She flinched in surprise and almost pulled away, but I held on tighter and tried to smile at her with my eyes. Tried to tell her I was here to help, if I could, and she wasn’t alone.
Her fingers suddenly squeezed mine and then relaxed again. I was relieved. She’d understood what I was trying to tell her.
“From the brainwaves,” said Middleton, “I can see what is coming from Nadia, and what is coming from you, Ari. If you can affect what she can do, I’ll see a spike in her brain waves, so you pushing over that glass yourself isn’t going to work. Got it?”
Dammit. That part of the plan obviously wasn’t going to work.
I nodded to show I understood, but it didn’t matter. It wasn’t going to work, because I’d made it up, but I’d achieved what I wanted—meeting another of the Kin held captive here.
The young male scientist, Duncan, stepped forward and righted the glass. He glanced at me and gave me a brief smile as though to say good luck. I didn’t bother smiling back.
The electrodes on our heads were checked again by Amanda, and then she nodded and stepped back, picking up her clipboard as she observed.
It was time.
I focused on the glass in front of us, concentrating, or at least pretending to. Beside me, Nadia did the same. After a few seconds, the glass trembled then tipped onto its side, exactly the same as the first time, just as I’d expected.
Exhaling, I shook my head. “I’m really sorry. It’s not working.”
“Why not?” Middleton snapped.
“Nadia and I might not be working on similar brain waves. I don’t know the science behind it, only the practical side of what happens. It could be the drugs you gave me, or it could simply be that Nadia is the wrong person for me to try this with.” I gave her an apologetic smile, but she shrugged and shook her head in a way that said, ‘it doesn’t matter.’
“If you think I’m going to let you go any longer without taking your medicine,” he said snidely, “then you can think again. I know what you’re capable of, Arianna, don’t forget that. I’m not a stupid man.”
“Fine. Then there’s only one other way to test it,” I said, meaning for him to let me work with someone else. I wanted to know who else was being kept captive here.
He stared at me and turned to Earl. “Give her another dose.”
My stomach sank. “No!” If I could fight them or run, would the drugs wear off enough to give me some of my ability back? I needed to try.
Without thinking any further, I tore the electrodes from my head and lunged for the open doorway.
A voice yelled from behind me. “Stop her!”
I made it out into the corridor, though I felt bad I’d abandoned Nadia. I remembered my thoughts about the way the building was structured and sprinted down the shortest end of the corridor. I wasn’t fast enough. My time in captivity, plus drugs and lack of food, made me even slower than normal, which was already slow. I’d almost made it to the end, but something big and heavy hit me from behind and sent me sprawling. The floor flew up to hit me, smacking my chin, my teeth clacking together. The weight landed on top of me, crushing me, making it impossible for me to move, though I wriggled and fought beneath him.
It was fruitless. I wasn’t physically strong enough.
I reached inside of myself, hoping I’d find my ability easy to access, like opening a cupboard door and reaching inside to grab it, but the sparks of lightning-like energy still weren’t there. Shit.
I sucked air in over my teeth as a sharp pain speared through my thigh. I’d been injected again. I hated them. All of them. Not just Middleton, but the scientists and the security, too. I wanted to make all of them pay for what they were doing here.
But I wouldn’t be making anyone pay right now.
Wooziness spread over me, my limbs growing warm and tingly, my head blurring, making me feel as though all I wanted to do was go to sleep. The man who’d knocked me down climbed off me and hauled me to my feet. My legs were weak beneath me, and I didn’t attempt to fight back.
I’m sorry, Nadia, I thought as I was hauled back to my prison. I didn’t mean to run from you.
Chapter Twenty-one
I spent an uncomfortable night curled up on a couple of towels on the bathroom floor of my metal box. I choose the bathroom because I could sleep in there without worrying someone was watching me. I might be wrong and there were hidden cameras in here, too, but at least I could kid myself into thinking I had a little privacy. Plus, I figured if someone else tried to sneak down to inject me before I was awake, I’d get the warning of the door sliding open. I didn’t know what good it would do—chances were I wouldn’t be able to do anything to stop them anyway, but it made me feel better to try.
The numerous drugs combined with lack of food made me weaker than I’d ever been in my life. I stuck my head under the faucet and gulped great mouthfuls of water, in part to try to flush the drugs from my system, and in part to put something in my stomach. The cold water caused my gut to cramp for a moment, and I bent double, my hand clutched to my stomach until it settled. When it did, I sank back down to sit on the floor, my knees tucked up into my body, my arms wrapped around them, my head down.
I was starting to feel hopeless, and I didn’t want to give in to that feeling. I knew giving in would be the end of me. Middleton would get what he wanted, and I’d end up as a compliant shell for him to test however he wanted.
Ari?
A voice in my head made me sit upright. Was I dreaming, or hallucinating? Had the drugs made me start imagining things?
Ari? Are you there?
The voice came again and I realized I wasn’t dreaming at all. It was speaking in my head and I knew it wasn’t a hallucination either. My heart lifted with hope.
Dixie?
Oh, my God, Ari. I thought we’d lost you. When I couldn’t...” She faded out like a badly tuned radio, and then came back... Just assumed the worst had happened. Everyone has been worried sick.
I’m okay. I could barely believe I was hearing her voice. It was the sweetest sound I’d ever come across. Are you getting closer? Is that why I can hear you?
We’ve passed Newbury Springs. We tried to find facilities belonging to the Myriad Group in the desert, but there weren’t any. Found a biotech research facility, though. It’s a sister company to Myriad, which is why we couldn’t find it at first.
I sat up straighter, my heart pounding with hope. You’re on the right track. There are others here, Dixie. We’re being kept underground in these big steel containers.
Are you with them right now? She sounded excited.
No. They don’t keep us together. I managed to convince Middleton that we needed to be together for some of his experiments to work, and he went with it. I’ve met one of them, but I’m sure there’s more.
Okay, we’ll get you all out...
She faded away again.
Dixie? Dixie, are you there?
I’d wanted to tell her to be careful, that Kit’s father would love nothing more than to get his hands on more of us to put in these damned boxes like zoo animals with no visitors. I wanted to tell her not to let anyone near her with a syringe, and I wanted to ask her how both Hunter and Kit were.
Dixie? Please come back.
I waited, hoping and praying her voice would sound in my head again, but there was nothing. What did that mean? Had she gone the wrong way, and the distance had increased between us again? For all I knew, they might have completely th
e wrong building in mind. My heart sank at the thought, but I knew there was a huge possibility that was exactly what had happened. Yes, Kit might have some inside information that would help them locate me, but I couldn’t rely on that happening. I needed to stay focused on surviving and taking any opportunity at escape when I could. I couldn’t rely on Hunter and the others to save me.
I did, however, take hope in the fact Kit and Hunter were both okay. I’d feared the worst after seeing Hunter hit by the car, and Kit clutching the bullet wound in his chest. The image of Hunter lying on the garage floor, motionless, and Kit bleeding, had played through my mind every time I closed my eyes. Had Kit’s ability to resist injury helped with the bullet wound? I remembered the curved scar down the inside of his forearm. He wasn’t supposed to withstand something like bullets, and the last glimpse I’d gotten of him definitely looked like he’d been badly hurt. Could it have been someone else’s blood? I didn’t understand what had happened. Hunter was easier to explain. Though he’d appeared badly hurt when I’d left him, he may have just been knocked unconscious. It was the only explanation I could come up with as to why both of the guys were still able to come after me, though I was grateful with every fiber of my heart that they were able to.
I heard movement from outside of the bathroom, and a moment later the bathroom wall slid open to reveal the burly security guard who had jumped me the previous day. I was still sitting on the floor, and he towered over me.
“The boss wants to see you.”
I scowled at him. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”
Would Middleton try to punish me for my terrible attempt at escape? I remembered what he’d threatened me with and shuddered.
“Come on,” the guard said, reaching for me. “I haven’t got all day.”
I snatched away the arm he’d been reaching for. “I can get up by myself.”
He returned the scowl. “Fine. Do it, then. Don’t keep me waiting.”
I pushed myself up the wall and steadied myself on the sink. My vision clouded in at the edges, and I felt suddenly woozy, though I knew the guard wasn’t going to give me much time to pull myself together. Flashes of light danced in front of my eyes.
“Come on!”
“Okay, okay, I’m coming.”
I followed him out of the bathroom. He approached the lift and stepped onto the platform, taking himself up to ground floor. I figured he didn’t want me going first, knowing there was a chance I’d make a run for it, even though I didn’t feel I could so much as run for a bus right now.
The platform came back down for me, and I stepped onto it and crouched, not trusting my balance enough to make it to the top without toppling off.
The guard was waiting at the top, and I avoided eye contact with him as I stepped off and onto the walkway. I scanned the tops of all the metal boxes to the front and back of where we were standing. Which box was Nadia in? Did she think badly of me for trying to run yesterday, or was she pleased that I’d tried to escape? I wished I could speak to her again and tell her help was coming. Or that I hoped it was coming, anyway.
I followed the guards back as he led me down the corridor. We passed the smaller laboratory again, and I found butterflies of anticipation fluttering inside me. Did that mean Middleton might want me to work with Nadia again?
We reached the bigger lab, and I stepped inside, eagerly looking around for the young woman. But only Middleton and the three scientists were there, none of whom spoke to me. I was clearly in their bad books for trying to run, as though I’d somehow insulted their warped sense of hospitality.
“Morning,” I said, my voice thick with sarcasm.
Duncan, the younger male scientist, was the only one who glanced over at me. He gave me a hint of a smile, but didn’t say good morning in return.
I could feel the anger radiating off Middleton. Good. I was glad I’d pissed him off, though fear at the repercussions it may have earned me twisted in my stomach. Only the lack of any operating equipment in the room stopped me running, screaming, back down the corridor.
I thought they’d continue to ignore me, but then movement at the door drew my attention. The other security guard—the one with the slimmer build—pushed a young man through the door.
Snatching a breath, my heart pattered with excitement. The new arrival was clearly another one of us. Apart from the fact he was being pushed around by the guard, he was also dressed in the same way Nadia and I were, in a white v-neck t-shirt, though obviously the girls’ ones were smaller than the guy’s, and loose white pants. The man—of Asian descent, with jaw-length silky black hair and narrow shoulders—stared at me as he walked through. I tried to read what I saw in his dark eyes. Anger, defiance, curiosity.
“Let’s try this again, shall we?” said Middleton, turning toward us and finally speaking, though still not meeting my eyes. He was angry with me, but didn’t want to show it.
The new arrival’s gaze flicked between us. “Try what? What’s going on?”
What was his accent? Was he English? If so, he’d spent some time here, as it definitely had a drawl to it now.
“This is Arianna,” Middleton said. “Arianna, this is Greg. He has abilities, like Nadia, but a little stronger. Let’s see if you can magnify them.”
The man, Greg, frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“Arianna thinks she can act like a magnifier for others’ abilities.”
I lifted a hand. “Hang on, I never actually said that. I just questioned if that was something you’d discovered yet, and if you knew the reason it happened.”
“Arianna, you have an ability like nothing I’ve ever seen before, and I know some of your friends, my son included, have some pretty impressive talents. Don’t tell me you’re unable to do this.”
“I don’t know for sure,” I said, figuring it wasn’t exactly a lie.
He gave a tight smile, as though the expression pained him. “Well, let’s find out, shall we?”
The security guard pushed Greg forward, toward the chair Nadia had been sitting in before.
Greg stared around. “What is this? This is bullshit!” He gave a show of a struggle but, like me, must have realized there was little point. Had he met Nadia? Did he know there were others like him here, too? How many more were there?
“Do as you’re told, Greg,” Middleton said. “You know what happens if you don’t.”
“If I don’t act as your little lab monkey, you mean? Yeah, I know, and I’ve survived it before. I’ll survive it again.”
The security guard moved forward, and was joined by the beefy guard who’d brought me here. Both men caught hold of one of Greg’s arms each and wrestled him toward one of the chairs. We hadn’t used them yesterday, but now I saw there were cuffs on the arms of the chairs. If Greg wasn’t going to do this willingly, they’d strap him to the chair until he did.
“Just do it,” I said to him, but he wasn’t listening. “It won’t hurt.”
I felt wretched I’d put him in this situation. I’d wanted to meet other Kin who were kept here, but not if it was going to get them hurt. I turned to Middleton. “Maybe we should try with someone else. It’s not going to work if he isn’t willing.”
Greg’s head snapped toward me. “Why are you helping him? Is he paying you?”
“No!” This was the second time someone had assumed I was working with Middleton. “He’s holding me here, too, just like you.”
“Then why are you doing this?”
I opened my mouth, desperately wanting to tell him the truth—so I could meet more like you—but I couldn’t do that without also letting Middleton know what I was doing.
“Because I didn’t have any choice,” I said again, feeling like they were empty words.
The guards pushed Greg into the chair. He lunged back out again.
“Boss?” the burly guard said, glancing over his shoulder to Middleton.
Kit’s father shrugged. “Do what you have to.”
The gua
rd pulled back his fist and punched Greg full in the face. Greg’s head rolled back, and he went slack for a moment, enough time to allow the guards to grab his wrists and strapped them onto the arms of the chair.
“No, stop that!” I cried, racing for the man I’d only met moments before, but who was in this position because of me. I lunged for Greg, unsure of what I planned to do when I got to him. All I could see was the blood running from his nose, his split lip, and the way bruises were already forming under his eyes. Strong hands grabbed my upper arms from behind, and I realized one of the guards had hold of me now, too. I struggled against him, but I knew it would do no good.
“I won’t be a part of this,” I spat. “I won’t have you hurting them.”
Frustratingly, Middleton laughed. “Do you really think this is the worst we can do, Arianna? Greg here got hit for not cooperating. It’s his own fault. If he’d just taken a seat nicely and done what we asked, we wouldn’t be in this position now.”
A thick moan came from Greg, and then he coughed, spraying blood. Because his arms were strapped to the chair, he couldn’t even lift his hand to cover his mouth.
“I’m sorry,” I told him, though I knew my words were empty. I’d made things worse for him, and that had never been my intention.
“Sit down, Arianna,” said Middleton. “Let’s get on with this.”
“You can’t expect to still try! Greg is bleeding!”
Greg’s eyes were open, and he glanced blearily at me and shook his head. I didn’t know if he was trying to tell me not to fight them, or if he wanted to just get on with it.
“No. I won’t cooperate with your damned experiments either if this is how you’re going to treat people.”
To my astonishment, he laughed. “You’re hardly one to talk. After what you did to my guy’s kneecaps when you launched a boulder at him? I suppose putting a man in a wheelchair for months is okay in your eyes, but punching a little sense into someone is out of order.”
After Flux (The Flux Series Book 2) Page 16