by Melissa Aden
Without a second thought, I chased after her, half-grabbing-half-tackling her from behind. Securely wrapping my arms around her shoulders and waist, I spun around to shield her from seeing the agent slowly approaching Hagen from behind.
“No! Let me go!” Sophie struggled and kicked.
Walking in the opposite direction as best I could on slick snow with a fetching mad girl attached to me, I bent my head to her ear. “Please stop. I need to get you out of here.”
“No, let me go!” she yelled, violently squirming.
“It’s dangerous. I’ll explain later, but we have to go.”
“No!” She yelled, slamming her head into my face.
My vision momentarily blurred as pain spread through my face. I tasted blood but couldn’t tell if it was from my nose or mouth. I lost my grip on Sophie for but a second before grabbing her again, now not caring if I hurt her.
“Stop it!” she yelled, still struggling. “I won’t let him humiliate me like this.” Her demands turned to pleas as I dragged her. “Ow! You’re hurting me. Everett, please. I have to confront him.”
“Shut up,” I snapped in a finite voice.
She managed to break free and I caught hold of her arm. She leaned away, trying to wretch herself free, only sliding on the snow before turning on me, clawing like a rabid animal.
“Sophie! Cut it out,” I said, afraid she’d draw attention to us.
“No! Let me go,” she hollered.
She slapped me in the face. My whole cheek went numb before feeling like it had lit on fire. I instinctually clenched my fingers tighter around her arm, causing her to do the unthinkable, leaving me retching in the snow from the intense pain spreading through my groin.
“Sophie! No!” I heard Mia gasp. She knelt by my side. “Are you okay? I saw her knee you.”
“Fine. I’m fine,” I croaked, wiping tears from my eyes. Sophie ran towards Hagen again. “Get in the car and be ready to drive,” I growled, handing Mia my keys. “I’ll get Sophie.”
I sprinted, but I wasn’t fast enough. A few yards from where Hagen and Jenny stood, entwined in their embrace, Sophie suddenly stopped, her shoulders shaking with hard sobs. “You jerk! You stupid coward!” she yelled. “How could you? I hate you, Hagen. I… erhm.”
I covered her mouth, but it was too late. Blinking fiercely, Hagen looked up and saw us. Panic flashed in his eyes and in the next second, he scanned the parking lot taking in the happenings around him. Without missing a beat, he somehow spotted the agent behind him, whipped a small knife out from thin air, and spun and launched it. It landed square in the agent’s chest, taking him down.
“No!” I breathed.
Sophie gasped. Her body went limp in my arms, her eyes wide with horror and her mouth open in a silent cry against my hand.
Then Hagen had a second knife to Jenny’s throat. Several PORTAL agents appeared from nowhere, running towards Hagen, guns drawn. The situation quickly spiraling out of control, I threw Sophie over my shoulder and ran. Sophie screamed. I turned to see Jenny clutch her throat — blood glistening through the cracks of her fingers — before crumpling to the ground.
Hagen did it! He actually cut her throat! And now he chased us, gaining on us faster than imaginable!
Hagen was smart. Of course most PORTAL agents would tend to Jenny. Of course the others wouldn’t shoot in Sophie’s direction for fear of hitting her. In mere seconds, he’d figured it out and executed his plan.
“Run!” Mia yelled.
Leaving the back hatch open, she backed the Trailblazer up, stopping in front of us. I launched Sophie in, cringing as she hit the floor with a thud. Jumping in behind her, I slammed the back door shut.
“Lock the doors,” I ordered.
Mia did so right as Hagen’s hands hit the back window, the look on his face purely animalistic.
Sophie screamed and clung to me.
“Mia!” I shouted.
“Hold on,” she called, throwing the Trailblazer into drive and hitting the gas. Tires screeching, we launched forward in a haze of smoke.
Hagen pounded the back window one last time, cracking the glass from top to bottom, before escaping into darkness.
Chapter 26
Break In
Mia irreverently sped down snowy back roads, jerking Everett and I about in the Trailblazer’s luggage stow as the vehicle slid and fishtailed. I watched the road speed out and away from us through cracks in the shattered back window, half expecting Hagen to appear from the darkness. He never did and my fear slowly subsided, allowing my brain to process what had happened.
I was overwhelmed, dejected, and horrified. It all happened so fast and there were missing pieces to the puzzle preventing me from making sense of things — like, who were those men in black suits, where did they come from, and why did Everett not seem the least bit surprised when they seemingly appeared from thin air? I had so many questions and got the sense that Everett had the answers, but the way he breathed — through his nose in quick, deep huffs like a maddened bull — told me now was not a good time to ask.
Never before had I seen Everett more upset. He sat propped against the back seat, his arms and legs limp. His head tilted back, he glared at the ceiling with dark, angry eyes.
I shuddered at the sight of him, as well as from fear of what he’d say when he finally spoke. I knew I was partly — if not totally — to blame for Everett’s anger. He had told me to go to his car. He was trying to protect me, but I didn’t understand and went against his instruction, resulting in pure catastrophe.
Not ready to explore the extent of my misdemeanor, I allowed the night to play out again and again in my head, growing increasingly aggravated at my inability to make sense of things. I hadn’t felt so utterly confused since Dad announced he was sending me to Brightman and now, just like then, I sensed the world as I knew it was somehow over — my paradigm turned on its ear, my truths pronounced lies.
I relived seeing Hagen kiss that beautiful girl and the hot, all-consuming rage that overtook me then. It was a scary yet awe-inspiring feeling: the sensory memory of anger rippling through every part of me like fire, radiating about me like a great auric mist. In that moment, I was unhinged, inconsolable, and uncontrollable. Mia and Everett tried to stop me, but I wouldn’t listen. I couldn’t compute anything but my desire to stop Hagen. Managing to get to him, I yelled until he looked up, confusion and then pure evil in his eyes.
Everything went cold as three things computed: Everett and Mia were right. Hagen was dangerous. I had to get away.
I was suddenly aware of Everett behind me, his hand clasped over my mouth, but it was too late. Hagen spun, throwing something into the darkness behind him. I strained my eyes to see. There was the briefest glint of silver. Someone groaned. A man hit the ground, his breath driven from his body with a loud hiss, his hand landing limply in the light of a nearby streetlamp. I collapsed into Everett, weighed down by sudden fear.
Hagen produced a second knife, putting it to the girl’s throat. The look of horror in her eyes haunted me even now — darting to and fro the approaching men in black, begging them to intervene, to prevent what was about to happen.
Then I was perched on Everett’s shoulder, watching the scene unfold from farther and farther away. Hagen looked straight at me, swiftly pulling the knife across the girl’s throat. I screamed. The girl clutched wildly at her neck, her lips parted in an unspoken prayer as pandemonium ensued about her. Men in black rushed her from every direction, but before she’d hit the ground, Hagen was already running towards us. So swiftly. Gaining speed at an unreal pace. Noticing, Everett bolted faster than ever, broadening the distance between us.
We’d gotten away. I let that comforting truth sink in. But something about the way Hagen had looked at me left no doubt he was imaging that helpless girl was me. He wasn’t cutting her neck in that moment, but slicing through mine. I clutched my throat and gulped, wondering if he’d come back for me. What was it that he’d said?
I again shuddered, remembering. I was safe now. But… for how long?
I hung my head feeling foolish. Everett warned me something was wrong with Hagen, yet I wildly clung to my delusions despite dreaming of Hagen’s cruelty night after night. Though, who could have foreseen Hagen actually being capable of such morbidity?
Tired of treading the deep waters of my thoughts, I looked to Everett. If bearing the brunt of his anger was the only way I’d get answers, then that was what I’d do.
“Everett?” I whispered.
“Don’t. Talk. To me,” he growled, looking at me.
I gasped, seeing the bright purple handprint across his left cheek and his swollen lower lip. “Oh, Everett! Your face!” I breathed, fingering his cheek.
“Don’t!” he hissed, swatting my hand away.
“Your cheek and your lip… I’m so sorry.”
“You think I’m mad about a stupid swollen lip?” He eyed me like I was deranged.
“I… I don’t understand. Then why are you mad?”
“You really want me to answer that?”
I braced myself before answering. “Yes.”
“A woman’s blood is on your hands tonight,” he said darkly, his eyes piercing mine.
“What?” I reeled.
“Did you not see? Jenny’s throat was slit. She’s dead and it’s your fault. If you had just listened to me, to Mia. But no! You had to give Hagen a piece of your mind, and now he’s escaped and Jenny’s most likely bled to death. Was it worth it? Are you proud of yourself?”
I held back burning tears. “But I… I honestly didn’t know,” I said in a quivering voice. “I didn’t understand. I still don’t.”
“That’s no excuse. You should’ve listened. Your actions got someone killed.”
“Everett!” Mia snapped from the driver’s seat. “That’s enough! You’re out of line.”
“That’s sort of the running theme of the evening, isn’t it, Mia,” Everett shot back. “Everything and everyone is out of line. Hagen’s at large, Jenny’s dead, and after tonight, there will be a huge target on my back because if anyone was watching, it’s no longer a secret that I’m the agent assigned to protect Sophie. To make matters worse, I’m a royal screw up and am going to be reassigned leaving Sophie in more danger than ever. Oh! And how could I forget? PORTAL is going to disband and we’re all going to die, hunted down one by one by Divaldo’s demon henchmen!”
“What’s PORTAL?” I blurted before thinking better of it.
Snapping his mouth shut, Everett glowered at me before folding his arms and inverting into a sulking blob.
The gears in my head began to whir. It took a few moments to make sense of what Everett had said, and even then, not everything computed. “And who’s Divaldo?” I asked.
“Good job, Slick,” Mia moaned. “Now look what you’ve done.”
Everett looked at me, the anger visibly draining from his face. “It’s nothing, Sophie. Never mind,” he quietly said.
“And I’m in danger and you’re my protector? From what? Or whom?”
“No!”
“But—”
“No!” he snapped.
“You might as well tell her,” Mia chimed in. “It’s about time.”
“Stay out of this,” Everett yelled at Mia. “She wouldn’t believe me anyway.”
“But I would believe you, Everett. I now believe you about Hagen,” I said.
Everett turned on me, the intensity of his eyes again piercing me. “So, it takes someone dying for you to believe me? That’s rich!”
“You don’t know she’s dead,” I yelled, hoping for the life of me she wasn’t.
“Did you not see the blood squirting from her neck?” Everett maniacally motioned with his hands. “It was like something out of a horror movie. I’ve had enough medical training from my dad to confidently say… she’s dead!”
“Your dad!” The thought was a ray of hope. “I saw your dad there. He was by Jenny’s side. He’s a doctor, right? He could have saved her.”
“She would have bled out in a matter of minutes,” Everett screamed. “Get it through your thick skull. She’s dead!”
Until now, my tears had obediently remained under the surface, but this was too much. My sadness, frustration, and anger spilled forth with uncontrollable sobs.
“Uh, guys?” Mia called, quietly. “We’re here.”
Through a blur of tears, I saw the entrance to Harmony Hall just ahead. Throwing open the hatch, I made a run for it. I couldn’t stand despicable Everett Sinclair or his ruthless, cutting words anymore.
Snowflakes flurried and the cold cut through me as I ran through the powdery snow, but I didn’t care. I had to get to my bedroom — to a safe place without people to hurt me — as quickly as possible.
I was almost to the entrance when I hit a slick patch of cement and flew through the air. I landed hard, sprawled on my stomach, before sliding a ways. Everett’s hands were instantly on me, effortlessly picking me up off the ground.
“Get off me!” I cried, kicking and clawing. “Don’t touch me.”
Everett obediently let go, but I was still on ice and fell again, this time right on my butt. I now bawled harder, too mentally and emotionally spent to do anything but sit in the snow and cry. I shook with anger at myself, Hagen, Everett, Dad, stupid Brightman Academy, and the mind-jarring situation as a whole. It was more than I could bear and, right then and there, I broke.
But then Everett was there beside me, gathering me into his arms, his face full of pain and regret. “Please don’t cry,” he said, cradling me. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said those things. I was mad. I didn’t mean any of it.” He stroked my hair, his lips resting on my forehead as he allowed me to cry and cry. Once my tears had quieted, he said, “It’s been a tough night for all of us.”
Unable to speak, I could only lean away and nod.
“Oh, Sophie! You’re bleeding,” he said, putting his hand to my face. Sure enough, a dark crimson stain soaked his sweater. “You must have hit your chin when you fell. Does it hurt?” he asked, gently swiping his finger across it.
“Ouch! Only when you touch it!” I couldn’t help but laugh then. “I’m an inevitable klutz, aren’t I? Leave it to me to find the one lone patch of ice on campus.”
Everett laughed too, releasing some of the tension in his dark eyes.
Mia caught up to us then. “What did I miss?” she asked, eyeing us on the ground.
The night had gone so many kinds of wrong that all I could do was deliriously laugh. Mia cocked her head.
“Sophie slipped on some ice… and quite possibly smacked herself silly,” Everett explained with a smile.
“I see,” Mia nodded. “Well, I just got off the phone with Dr. Smitherson. He said it’s safe to come in but that we should proceed with caution — whatever that means.”
Everett stood and helped me up. “Let’s get inside then. It’s not safe out here.”
The scene we came upon stopped my laughter short. Two men, once again clad in all black, flanked my front door — or at least what remained of it. Through a charred hole in the center of the door, I saw Dr. Smitherson standing in the middle of my dorm along with a handful of men in black jackets who scurried about. Crawling through the hole, I felt faint as the full effect of my dorm hit me. My couch and chairs were trashed, pillows lay on the floor in shreds, and splinters of what used to be my kitchen cabinetry littered the floor.
“What is going on?” I asked. “Who did this?” I nearly crumpled to the ground from the devastation of it all. My home. My one safe place. It was gone. I had never felt so violated in all my life.
“Oh! Sophie. Everett. Mia. I’m so glad you’re all safe,” Dr. Smitherson breathed, looking extremely relieved and then very concerned. “Everett, what happened to your face? And, Sophie dea
r, your chin?”
“She had a nasty spill outside,” Everett answered nonchalantly, eyeing my living room. “And I got attacked by a crazy woman,” he added with a covert wink my way.
“Oh!” Dr. Smitherson looked alarmed. “That sounds awful.”
“Yeah, it was pretty scary,” Everett said, a smile hinting at the corners of his mouth. “What happened here?”
“Obviously, there was a hit on Sophie planned for tonight. One of Brightman’s security guards caught some men in her dorm. They blew a hole through the front door with some mild explosives. Not the best choice if you ask me, but it seems Divaldo’s operatives aim for flashy hits these days.”
“Message received loud and clear,” Everett nodded. “They clearly wanted to be seen and heard.”
“They were captured and sent to PORTAL headquarters for questioning. I’m glad none of you were here. I was very worried.”
“I don’t understand. What is going on?” I demanded, slightly losing it.
Everett grabbed my hand, giving it a squeeze. “I have a safe place for Sophie to stay tonight, but how long until her dorm is livable?”
“I can have most everything fixed and new furniture delivered by tomorrow afternoon,” said Dr. Smitherson. “It looks like Sophie’s belongings are untouched, but you might want to take inventory.”
“Sure,” Everett nodded.
“Mia, I think you should do the same. It doesn’t look like anyone went into your dorm, but you never can be too careful.”
“Yes, sir,” Mia nodded, walking off.
“Well, I’ll leave you to it then,” Dr. Smitherson said. “I need to call Director Salvatore and report what has happened. I’ll be sure to inform him you all are safe.”
“Thank you, sir,” Everett replied.
As soon as Dr. Smitherson had walked away, I dragged Everett to my bedroom, shutting the door behind us. “I don’t appreciate everyone talking about me like I’m not in the room. First, Hagen goes berserk on me, then he hurts that girl outside the bar, and now my dorm is broken into!?! I want answers and I want them now.”