“My location was compromised. I heard that mind reader kid and another guy talking. It’s how I knew Will was in trouble and Joel was being tracked. They were closing in on my location, so I packed a bag and ran. I must have just missed her. She’s in trouble, Charlie.” Rose finally lets her anger at me slip and worry takes ahold of her.
“Shit. Let’s go, now.” I don’t wait for a response as I rush out of the building. I don’t even look to see what cars are coming. It’s a miracle I don’t get hit and I have good brakes to thank. I’m sworn at a lot and I roughly throw the driver’s door open and drop myself in, starting the car up already.
“What happened?” Will takes his eyes off the van to look at Charlie.
“Zoe’s not here, she’s in trouble.”
I’m tempted to drive off without Rose who annoyingly has her hand over Joel’s arm as if dragging him along with her. I only wait because I don’t know where I’m going.
“Why is he here?” I snap, angry when she pushes Joel into the backseat before slipping in herself.
“We need all hands on deck. Joel might be able to help us. Now drive, I was staying in North Carolina.” Rose quickly grabs out her cell and turns it on.
“Isn’t Joel being tracked?” Will reminds us.
“Pull into a pharmacy,” Rose distractedly says. I see her typing on her phone. She then quickly holds it up to her ear and I shut my mouth to keep from arguing with her.
“Dean, call me back the second you get this. I’m in trouble and I need your help,” Rose demands and then a few seconds later she calls again. And again.
When we pull away from the pharmacy, I go back to feeling ill. Partly because of my worry over Zoe and partly because of the surgery going on in the backseat with Joel. After looking over Joel’s scars from his time at The Windmill being tortured, Rose thinks she found where the tracking device might be. She bought bandages, antiseptic cream, a towel, a knife and scissors. Joel whimpers and gasps as she painfully digs in and it sounds horrible. Will had the forethought to ask us to buy a bucket, and while I thought it might be to place the soiled clothing and bloody utensils in afterwards, it was actually so he could puke without sticking his head out the window or us having to pull over.
I end up pulling down my window and breathing in the fresh, crisp air, hoping Zoe is all right. We have to get to her in time, and if we don’t, then we’ll have no choice. We’ll need to take down P.A.G.E. and get her back.
BLAKE DWELLS
Chapter 17 – The First Date
Gillette, Wyoming
June 6th (Blake aged 16)
I stand in a crowd, shaking. I wipe my sweaty hands over my jeans for the hundredth time and look around at all the strangers surrounding me. I’m looking for someone in particular, but I can’t see her anywhere.
I glance down at my watch and look at the time. It’s almost three. That’s when I’m meeting Sophie. In my excitement, I got here an hour early and I’ve regretted it ever since. Before, I was excited and eager to be here and now, I’m nervous and my legs have been glued to the same spot for ages.
“Hi, I hope I’m not late,” Sophie’s voice sounds from behind me and I jump in surprise, looking like an idiot.
“Hey!” My voice is too high and I cough, hoping to hide my nerves.
“Hi.” She smiles at me and my heart rate accelerates. How does she do that to me? When I finally had the guts to ask her out I thought I was going to have a heart attack. Now I feel the same way. Will this feeling ever go away?
“Hello,” I murmur and then realize we’ve just helloed each other twice. “How are you? Are you okay?” I shove my hands in my pockets, trying to stop them from fidgeting. My nerves spike up a notch when I worry we won’t have anything to talk about.
“I’m good. How are you?”
“Good, really good.” My voice is high-pitched again and I curse myself. Why couldn’t I just be cool for two seconds with Sophie? Is that really asking for so much?
“That’s good.” I notice her eyes skimming the crowd, and I feel paranoid that she’s looking for an exit.
“So what movie do you want to see?” I ask, looking up at the screen that shows two movies will be coming on in the next ten minutes. Both are old ones being replayed during school holidays. One is Transformers and the other is Love Actually. I know what one I want to see and what one I’ll want to gouge my eyes out in.
“Well, I really want to see Love Actually. Julie said it was so romantic and sweet, but I understand if you don’t want to. We can see Transformers; I haven’t seen that movie, either.” She tries to hide it, but I see the distaste in her voice when she mentions Transformers. I suppose I’ll be going for eye gouging.
“We can see Love Actually. I’ve seen Transformers loads of times,” I lie. The truth is, I’ve had to sit through Love Actually several times since it’s Mom’s favorite and she always insists that Nicole and I watch it with her. It’s one of the few things we agree with each other about, our hatred of that movie. Transformers is a movie I’ve never seen before, but have always wanted to.
“Great!” Sophie’s eyes light up and I immediately think seeing this stupid movie again will be worth it.
“Do you want a drink or popcorn?”
“We can get one to share,” Sophie offers. I try not to imagine the thrill I’ll get sharing a drink with her.
“Okay.”
The movie unfortunately isn’t any different than the DVD Mom has at home, and I fight the urge to nod off through it. Sophie is completely enthralled throughout the movie and I feel severe embarrassment through the scene where two of the characters are placing themselves in compromising positions while naked. I see Sophie also is blushing and I shift uncomfortably in my seat. How had I forgotten about this scene?
Luckily, nothing else is quite as embarrassing as that moment, so when the movie ends and the lights come up, Sophie has tears in her eyes.
“That was so amazing. Better than I thought,” she gushes.
I smile at her and nod, suddenly feeling the last two hours were very bearable.
“Did you like it, too?” she asks me, eyeing me carefully.
“It was all right.” I smile, trying to seal my lie.
“I could tell you were bored. Thank you for seeing it with me. Next time I promise we’ll see what you want.”
“Next time?” I jump on her words.
“Oh, if you want to have a next time.” Sophie has gone nervous and she turns away so I can’t see her face. I have to rush to follow her out the aisle of seats we’re down and out of the cinema.
“Yes, I mean, if you’re sure you want to go on another date…?” I ask, wishing I sounded surer of myself.
“That would be lovely.” Sophie looks down at her watch. “My dad isn’t going to be here for another half an hour.”
“I’m just walking home, I can wait with you,” I offer.
“How about we go for a walk? I think I could use some fresh air.” She nods to the candy bar and another waft of popcorn drifts over. I love the smell of popcorn, but I’m not about to turn down an offer to spend more time with her.
“Yeah, sure.”
I lead the way outside and pat myself on the back when I remember to open the door for her. She smiles warmly at me and again my heart pounds loudly and quickly in my chest.
“So what did you think of Mrs. Byron’s algebra class?”
“I didn’t get it at all,” I complain.
“Really? I didn’t think she was very challenging.”
“That’s because you’re so smart.”
She blushes from my compliment. “I don’t know about that.”
“You’re the smartest girl in school. In fact, probably smartest out of the boys and girls.”
“No, I’m not. You’re smart, too, Blake.”
“I’m barely passing algebra.”
“I can help you study. I mean, if you want me to.”
“That would be great.” The studying algebra
wouldn’t be, but spending more time with Sophie will. Suddenly, I can’t wait for summer to end and school to start up again.
I feel warm in my shirt out in the sun and I see Sophie take off her jacket, feeling the warmth, too. She ties it around her waist.
“So what is your favorite subject in school then?”
“I like gym.” I worry my answer won’t be good enough for her. I should have said a science class or an English class.
“Is that because you’re so good at it?” ‘He looks good in that shirt.’
I’m surprised by the thought that invades my own and I wish it away. I don’t want to hear her thoughts. It’s not right or fair to her and I always end up hearing something I don’t want to know.
“I don’t think I’m that great. I just like having a break from sitting down at a desk all day.”
“Well, I like gym, too.”
We keep walking down the street in silence and all too soon she turns around and we head towards the cinema again.
“So when do you want to catch up again?” she asks me, her voice nervous again.
“Tomorrow?” I say it before I can filter myself. I shouldn’t sound so eager.
Sophie laughs. She must think I’m such a dork.
“Okay, call me tonight and we can arrange it. I’ll have to check with my dad, but I think he’ll be fine with it.”
“Okay.” I bite down on my lips to stop my smile from giving away how excited I am.
“Do you want me to be your girlfriend, Blake?” When Sophie asks me that, so out of the blue, it feels like my heart nearly snaps through my ribs.
“Umm…” What is the right answer to this? Do I say yes or is that too desperate?
‘Say yes, please say, yes.’
Her thoughts save me and I nod, unable to find my voice to say ‘yes’ all of a sudden.
“Good. Here’s my dad. Call me tonight.” Sophie bends over and kisses me lightly on my cheek, freezing me in shock.
She waves with one hand and opens the passenger door with the other. I’ve lost my jaw on the sidewalk somewhere and I only barely realize I’m waving back as she drives away.
When she’s gone, I jump up and down three times before I get control of myself. I sprint all the way home and fly straight passed Mom and Nicole and quickly pick up the phone.
I get halfway through dialing her number when I stop. Should I wait a while first? Should I call her later tonight? I look down at the half dialed phone number and shrug, not caring how this will look. I finish her number which I learned by heart last night and she answers on the first ring.
“Hi.” Her voice is shy and my heart hammers in my chest again.
“Hello.”
Chapter 18 – The Pain
The Windmill, North Dakota
April 22nd
My first sensation is pain. My stomach aches and when I try to lift my arms to touch my chest I feel restrained. I open my eyes and try to catch my bearings. Where am I? What happened?
I see flashes of Sophie and Nicole. We were at school, we got pulled over, and we were attacked. Are Sophie and Nicole okay?
I struggle to move, and again I’m frozen. I move my head to the side and look at my surroundings. I see a few machines around me; some have wires that reach toward me and connect under the gown I’m in. I’m wearing a gown?
A curtain is pulled around my bed and blocks my view of what is outside it.
I realize I must be in a hospital. Why am I alone? Where is Mom and Dad? Why aren’t Sophie and Nicole here? Have they been hurt, too?
I think about yelling out to bring someone over, someone I can ask questions to, but my voice freezes when I hear strange voices approaching me instead.
“Thank you for bringing him here to me. I’ve been stuck here, listening to the recordings for a reason as to why they bolted.”
“Of course, ma’am. Where would you like him?”
Someone groans and I watch shadows cross the curtains surrounding me. One of the people bumps into the curtains and the corners move side to side, causing a slit to open up through the edge. I now have a couple of inches of space to see what is on the other side of the curtains.
I see one bed and the corner of another one. I can definitely confirm this is a hospital room.
“Just drop him over there. Cuff him to the sides. He looks like he’s run into a few fists,” the woman notes. I see her from behind briefly before she steps away. Two men in military uniform force an Asian man into a bed. He struggles as they cuff his hands and legs to the bed. He has tape over his mouth and his face looks heavily bruised. His uniform, also military, is bloody.
“Bring the girl in.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The men leave and I finally get a closer look at the woman. She’s wearing all black and her dark hair is pulled back in a sharp ponytail. Her face looks strict and harsh, and when I get a quick glimpse of her eyes, I swear they’re black. The vibe I get is evil, and I hope she isn’t my doctor.
The pain in my stomach intensifies, but I bite down on it when I hear the door open again.
“Why the hell am I here?” a girl, who sounds much younger than I expect, demands.
“Hello Maggie, my name is Martha Goodings. I’ve brought you here to have a chat with a traitor.”
“Traitor?” That word pulls her up short. I hear the curiosity in her voice now.
“He helped people get away that we needed here. I want you to ask him why and what he gave them.”
“Why me?” I see the girl come into view then. She is young. I think she looks close to my age as she hugs herself, appearing to be quite frail.
“You know why; you can get the truth from him. You’ve been briefed back at The Ranch. This is the type of thing we need from you. You can save a lot of people’s lives doing this.”
“But I don’t really care for people.” I watch her shoulders move up and down. I think she shrugged.
“Learn to care,” Martha growls. I don’t need to read her mind to know she’s angry.
“Fine. He might need to be ungagged if you want any real response out of him.” Maggie puts her hands on her hips angrily.
“Good.” Martha moves the tape harshly off the man and he groans again. “Shut up. You will listen to these questions and answer them truthfully or face death.” ‘Like you have a choice. I can’t wait to kill you.’
Her voice in my head feels like a stab through my brain and I close my eyes, trying to fight the urge to moan.
“I’ll never tell you anything,” the man gasps.
“I’m afraid you will. Go on, Maggie, ask him.”
“Why did you help those people get away?” ‘This is so boring. Hurry up and answer so I can leave already.’
“They’re good people. Rose is a good person.”
“We were going to help them. They had no reason to want to be away from here,” Martha snaps.
“Rose is smart, I bet she knew the minute she was in here not to trust you.” The cuffed man sounds smug, ignoring his injuries and the unstable situation he’s landed in.
“Why couldn’t she trust her?” Maggie asks. Martha grabs hold of her arm roughly and forces her to look her in the face.
“You will only ask questions I approve of, understand?”
“Okay, okay. Let me go.”
Martha releases Maggie’s arm and I watch them glare at each other for long moments before Martha steps back and I lose her from view.
“What did you give them?” Martha demands.
“You’ll never find them.”
Martha flashes into my view as she slaps the man hard across the face.
“What did you give them?” Maggie’s voice wavers. ‘This bitch is scary. Note to self: don’t ever cross her.’
“Documentation. New identities.”
“Ask him what names he gave them.” ‘We just need to trace their new names and we’ll find them. This can all be sorted soon.’
“What names did you give them
?” Maggie asks, her stance going back to looking bored.
“I made sure I didn’t know that. You won’t ever be able to find them. My documents always look legit.”
“You bastard. How could you betray us like this? We trusted you…” Martha slaps him hard again.
“I talked to her every day for years. I know her;she doesn’t deserve this life—”
“And that gives you the right to destroy everything?” ‘I will kill him with my bare hands…’
“What gives you the right to take her life away from her?”
“Someone is trying to kill her and you’ve just thrown her back out there without us to help her. They could all be killed because of what you’ve done.”
“Can I go now? I asked those stupid questions,” Maggie bravely asks.
“Yes, thank you. Go outside, I’ll be with you in a moment to transfer you back to The Ranch.”
‘Oh yay, from one boring place to another.’
I hear Maggie’s retreating footsteps. Once she leaves it’s just Martha and the beaten man left.
“I did what I thought was right—”
“Well, you did the wrong thing. You’ve jeopardized this entire mission and for what? A pretty girl?”
“Rose is my best friend, she understands—”
“It was all a lie. You became her friend under false pretenses and lied to her. If she knew who you were, she would hate you. Perhaps I will tell her that as soon as I catch her.”
“No, it wasn’t a lie—”
“But it was. You’ve thrown your entire life away now. What a waste.”
“What is going to happen to me?” His voice wavers in fear.
“You’ll be dishonorably discharged and arrested for treason.”
The man’s face falls and I feel the panic cross his mind.
“I’ll go to jail?”
‘Oh you won’t make it that far. You won’t even live to go to trial, asshole.’ “Yes.”
“I still think I did the right thing.” His voice is barely a whisper and I nearly don’t even hear it.
A sharp pain hits my stomach and I can’t stop myself from crying out in pain. I close my eyes and again try to move my arms. I think they might be cuffed like the man I just saw, but then my arms do move and I hug my stomach.
Taken By Force (Taken Trilogy Book 2) Page 11