by Ginna Moran
“I didn’t want to die with a guilty conscience,” I say, remembering the old man’s words from the parking lot.
She turns toward me. “You can’t save them all.”
I’m not sure if she’s referring to me or herself—maybe the both of us. “But you should try to save who you can.”
She turns away as the elevator door slides open. I hesitate for a second, letting Jacqueline exit first, and then stay close on her heels as she marches down the pristine white hallway. It smells like disinfectant and loud whispers come from the nurse’s station twenty feet away.
Jacqueline’s hand flies out and smacks me in the chest, stopping me in place. I reel backwards and hit my shoulder on the wall next to me. Fear slices through me like a blazing knife and I press my back to the wall for support.
Jacqueline rushes to me and bows her head to lean closer to my ear. “We have a problem. Security measures must’ve changed since Hunter has been here. An agent is heading our way. Hunter says this particular agent is different. He can see auras and he can tell when someone isn’t human.”
I blow a puff of air through my lips. There aren’t any doors close enough to run into to hide and we won’t make it back to the elevator either. I straighten my back and clench my fists to prepare for a fight. While I’m not trained in combat, I’m fast. I also have the sheer will to live on my side. I will not go down without a fight.
Jacqueline wraps her arms around my neck. “I’m letting Hunter take control. His aura should mask mine,” she whispers.
That doesn’t give me much hope. Sweat beads on my forehead and anxiety grips my chest and squeezes, making it hard to breathe. This could be the end for me. Jacqueline is safe, but no one is here to hide me.
“I won’t let anything happen to you, Nadia.” It’s Hunter speaking through Jacqueline.
I sob into Jacqueline’s shoulder. I can’t help it. I’m so scared that I can’t be strong. It’s funny how after everything I’ve went through to get Hunter back to his body and away from Jacqueline, I’m the one who loses in the end. You knew the risk. Alyssa predicted your future.
Hunter shushes me and hugs me tighter, pressing my back harder into the wall. I wish it were really him and not Jacqueline’s body. It’s not the same. I can’t help that I despise her.
“I’m scared,” I sputter.
“He’s coming,” Hunter whispers.
I hate that the last thing I’m going to do in my life is cry.
25. CHANGE OF PLANS
HUNTER
“Mom’s going to be okay. Please don’t cry.” I say it loud enough for the agent to hear. His footsteps slow, and I can feel his gaze on my back, but he doesn’t stop.
If the agent from the Special Ability Task Force notices Jacqueline’s life essence with mine, he’ll make it known. He’s highly trained and deadly, and also scientifically gifted with strength and some serious fighting skills. He’s the result of the board’s many experiments and one of their most successful. It’s his job to investigate and destroy supers.
“It’s working,” Jacqueline thinks.
I nod. “You’re a quick thinker.”
“What?” Nadia whispers through her tears.
“Sorry, nothing.”
Nadia relaxes and I turn my head to peek behind me. The agent rushes past without a second glance and to the elevator. I pull away and meet Nadia’s eyes. She wipes the back of her hand over her cheek and blinks.
“Time’s up, Hunter.”
“I’m really going to miss you,” I say to Nadia.
Jacqueline forces me back into her mind.
NADIA
I almost can’t believe I’m alive. The agent walked by like we weren’t even here. My uncontrollable sobs were pretty obvious and I’m mortified that I couldn’t stay calm in the face of danger. I’d be the first one to die in a horror movie. For being a monster, I’m not as tough as people think.
“The elevator is after the nurse’s station,” Jacqueline says.
I lock my arm through hers and we stroll along with our heads bowed. I don’t look up as we pass the station, even though I sense a pair of eyes on me, and then turn right when Jacqueline nudges me in that direction.
The elevator is about ten feet away and nothing special. It doesn’t say employees only or require the access card, so I push the button and wait. We stand a few feet back in case someone is on the elevator, but it’s empty when the door slides open.
Jacqueline enters first, then I follow and immediately press the close door button. My chest tightens when I see a button marked B, and it takes me a few seconds to gather my courage to press it.
I keep my face lowered and away from the camera blinking in the corner and lean against the side wall of the elevator just in case someone is waiting on the other side of the door when we reach the basement.
“I can’t do it,” Jacqueline says.
I jerk my head to look at her. “What?” My palms sweat and for the first time ever, I’m feeling claustrophobic. The air is thick and panic sparks in the back of my mind. Hunter can’t go back to his body if Jacqueline won’t help and then all our efforts have been wasted.
Jacqueline twists the ends of her curly hair. She leans closer and whispers, “I’m scared.”
I’m frustrated that Jacqueline’s changing her mind now. We’re already almost to the basement. “I’m terrified, too, but you have to. We’re here. Don’t make me drag you to his body. That’ll get us both caught with no way to escape.” I think about Alyssa’s vision. Jacqueline’s unwillingness is going to be the reason why I die.
The elevator dings and the door slides open.
I hold my breath and peek out.
It’s an empty hallway that leads to a set of double doors with the words ‘Employees Only’ painted across them. On the wall next to the doors is the keypad and access card reader. As long as no one comes out, we’re safe in the hallway for now.
I grab Jacqueline’s arm, but she plants her feet and doesn’t budge.
“Come on, Jacqueline,” I say.
She shakes her head. “No. You don’t understand. They’ll kill us. Someone will catch us. I can try to let him go here.”
“Will he make it?”
She looks at the floor. She doesn’t know. I’m not putting my faith in her getting him safely back to his body from a distance she’s not sure of, not when we can go a little farther.
I tuck my hair behind my ear and start walking. Jacqueline cries out and I turn and watch as she trips and starts sliding across the tiles behind me. With the talismans we’re wearing, she has to go where I go whether she wants to or not.
“Please, Nadia, I need a minute. I’ll do it. I swear, please, just stop. I just need a second.”
I freeze. “Fine, but we’re going through the doors first. I don’t like being so open in this hallway.”
“But you don’t know what’s on the other side of the door,” she argues.
I stroll back to her and tug her to her feet. “I’m sure Hunter does. Just ask him.”
HUNTER
“A bathroom is on the left side of the hallway when you enter through the door,” I say. It would be a lot easier if Jacqueline would give me control again, but she’s already told me no about six dozen times since running into the agent in the hallway.
“I don’t care. I don’t want to go through the door yet,” Jacqueline thinks.
“It’s a single stall with a lock,” I say.
“People tend to use the bathroom. Someone will discover us.”
“It’s not the only bathroom on the floor.”
“Shut up, Hunter. You’re not the one who has to worry about getting out alive.”
Nadia tugs Jacqueline’s hand. She’s looking paler than just a few minutes ago and her hair appears lighter, too. She wasn’t lying when she said that they were running out of time. The deep hunger in her eyes is unmistakable and she’s getting impatient with Jacqueline’s stalling.
“I’m not goi
ng to shut up, Jackie. Look at Nadia. Don’t you see what’s happening?” I ask.
“What are you talking about?”
She’s playing oblivious and it’s pissing me off. She knows exactly what’s happening. “Don’t act clueless. Nadia’s getting weak and the longer you take, the more likely she’s going to lose control.”
“That’s not my—”
Nadia squeezes Jacqueline’s hand. “We are getting out of here alive. You have to trust me. We’re strong and powerful. These people, they’re afraid of us too. Pull yourself together. I believe in us.”
Jacqueline forces her feet to move. “We are powerful. We’re getting out of here alive.” She repeats the words to herself and I can feel her fear ease. She’s clinging onto Nadia’s faith and using it to gather her courage. She closes her eyes for a moment and then meets Nadia’s gaze. “Let’s get Hunter home.”
NADIA
Jacqueline picks up her pace and walks next to me.
“I can sense Hunter’s body,” she says.
I smile. We’re so close I can feel it.
I was worried Jacqueline would put up a fight and make a scene and then push me at the doctors to make her escape. She has no regard toward others and it shows in how she acts. She’s the type to make a deal with the devil and then beg for mercy when it’s time to pay her dues.
“Where do we need to go?” I ask.
We reach the double doors and she peeks through the small window. “We just have to make it past the clerical counter. It’s at the end of the corridor when we enter. That should be close enough.” She crosses her arms and rubs them like she’s cold. “We only have a few seconds to get back out. The secretary is bound to see us.”
I nod. I’m strangely confident that we’ll get in and out quickly without having to face any of the HPA members. If they’re anything like the doctor from the parking lot, then they won’t want to confront us either.
“We can do this,” I say. “You’ll be really relieved once it’s over.”
Jacqueline twists her lips to the side. “I hope so.”
I slide the access card and the screen asks for the pass code. Jacqueline punches it in, and then we stand off to the side when the doors automatically open inward.
The corridor looks identical to the rest of the hospital with white walls and tiles, except for a few framed posters of people I’ve never heard of hanging on the walls. I look at each one we pass and realize it’s a memoriam of people the HPA has lost. I smirk when I see one of our council members on the wall, Veronica Sanders. I guess she never told the board she quit. If only they knew.
I try not to panic at the sound of voices. They’re coming from the end of the corridor, where the clerical counter is. A woman laughs and then a phone rings, and the voices turn into quiet murmurs.
“When we get to the end of the corridor, bend down,” Jacqueline whispers.
Her hands tremble and I reach over and twine my arm through hers. Her lips curve up in the corner, but it’s nowhere near a smile, and I don’t blame her. Someone could come around the corner at any second and see us, and there’s only one way out that we know of. The odds are against us, and I should be angrier with Jacqueline since she’s the reason I’m in this mess, but I feel bad for her. I pity her. She is truly alone in this world.
“Now,” Jacqueline whispers.
I hunch over, dropping my arm from hers. It’d be easier to get down on my knees, but I’m not risking it. I’m too worried about not getting to my feet fast enough to escape.
We sneak past the counter and turn into the first hallway on the right. A doctor strolls down the corridor, reading over her clipboard. She enters a room and I let out my breath. She was too busy to notice or care.
Goodbye, Nadia. Hunter’s voice echoes in my head and then slips away as quickly as it came. I turn to look at Jacqueline and she nods, confirming that Hunter is gone. I blink tears from my eyes, relieved that it’s finally over. Hunter can live his life again.
“Let’s go,” I mouth to Jacqueline.
HUNTER
The air changes and it’s like I’m watching things happen from a different perspective. I reach out to touch Nadia and my hand passes through her. I’m a ghost until I reconnect with my body. I’m only tethered to this world through Jacqueline and since I left her at my own free will, I could accidentally snap the tether and die if I don’t hurry.
I bound down the hallway and to the last room on the left. I can sense my body behind the door. It’s strange, like I’m stuck in a magnetic pull, and it wants me back. It needs me back.
Without a body, I’m much faster, freer, and I’m not restricted by flesh and bone and the heaviness of it all. I hesitate before going through the door. All I’ve wanted the last few weeks was to be back in my body—to be me again—and now that I’m standing so close, I don’t think I can go through with it.
I can’t live the life that was given to me. I can’t pretend like everything is going to be okay and that somehow I will miraculously change the world. I can’t pretend that I’ll change the thoughts of the board and make a place where Nadia is free from fear—make a place where we can be together. I can’t pretend it’s okay if my mom is a delusional doctor trying to save humanity. It doesn’t even need to be saved in the first place. What will happen to me now if I go back? How will I live my life feeling this way?
“You have to do it or you’ll die.” The words are faint, but they resonate within me. It’s Jacqueline’s thoughts coming through our tether. I look over and see her staring in my direction. She’s the only one who can see me like this.
“Maybe that’s how it’s supposed to be,” I say. I don’t know if I believe in fate or karma or divine intervention, but given all the signs and all that I’ve been through—not to mention what Nadia has been through—maybe I should really think about what I’m going to do. What if it’s not what is supposed to happen?
Hot energy zips through me, like a shock of electricity. “It’s why we’re here. It’s why we went through all this trouble to get you here. You can now make a difference. You’ll have a voice.”
“With no one who will listen,” I say.
“Then you’ll have to yell and force them to listen.”
I glance from Jacqueline to Nadia and see the fear puckering her eyebrows. She looks so fragile and beautiful with her shimmering, white hair and light gray eyes. She looks like the girl I first met in Jacqueline’s dream. I can’t give up. Nadia would hate me. I would hate me, too.
I lift my hand to wave and before I enter through the door, the agent from the Special Abilities Task Force waltzes up and stands on the opposite side of the counter, just feet away from Nadia and Jacqueline. All he’d have to do is move to the other side to see them.
I’m not going to let that happen.
NADIA
I step forward and then Jacqueline pushes me against the wall. Voices echo around the corner and my heart races. This is the only way for a person to go and we have nowhere to hide. Jacqueline points at a door about ten feet away and I glide toward it.
“Anyone new come through here, Lacey?” A masculine voice asks.
Jacqueline rushes in behind me and partially closes the door.
“Can I help you?”
I turn to see a woman sitting at a desk. She holds a coffee cup halfway to her mouth and I charge her before she has a chance to do anything. I slap my hand over her mouth and lean down.
“Don’t do anything you’ll regret,” I whisper. “We’re not here to hurt anyone and we’re just leaving.”
“He’s coming,” Jacqueline says, searching the room. She picks up a metal folding chair and holds it up to protect herself.
I don’t move. I don’t breathe. I just hold my hand over the startled doctor’s mouth and wait for the agent to storm in.
But nothing happens. The world comes to a standstill.
HUNTER
I gasp and sit up.
I rip the breathing tube out and co
ugh and spit. Wires stick to my bare chest and an IV drips clear liquid into my arm. I’m disoriented and dazed and feel like I was hit by a bus. I curl and uncurl my fingers and wiggle my toes and then my ears pop as the tether anchoring me to Jacqueline snaps.
My body is really mine and I don’t have to share it with anyone anymore. It’s awesome and crazy and not to mention a relief to be myself again. I wasn’t sure if it would ever happen, but here I am.
I rub my hand over my scruffy face. I need a serious shave and a few showers. I smell pretty bad. I wouldn’t normally care, but I’m not exactly at home. The last time I was in a body, it was Jacqueline’s and she smelled nice, feminine, but nice. I hold up the blanket to look at the rest of my body and grin. It’s good to be back.
The door swings open and my brother walks in. “Hunter?”
I drop the blanket. “Shut the door, Mason.”
“You’re awake.”
I raise an eyebrow. “I was never sleeping.”
“So it’s true?” He sits down on the edge of my bed.
“Yeah, and I have a lot to tell you, but I need you to yell for help first,” I say.
“I brought what you asked,” he says.
“There has been a change of plans.”
26. SAVE WHO YOU CAN
NADIA
“Help!”
Voices murmur in the hall as people start gathering to see what’s going on. Dread knots in my chest. The more people around, the harder it’s going to be to escape. Someone will see us.
“Where’s Dr. Agatha? Someone get Dr. Agatha! Hunter Sullivan is awake.”
Jacqueline’s face falls. She points at the desk and I curse under my breath. The woman I’m holding is Dr. Agatha. We need to leave now. It would be worse for someone to come in here than risk being seen in the hallway. Here, we’re trapped.