'I hope I don't get in trouble… she shouldn't have woken up… I hate this job… but the money… need the money… hope Mom and Nick are okay… can't afford to get in trouble again… hate keeping these kids here like animals… not right but what can I do… if only I'd never met these creeps… and getting her pregnant… so awful… wonder what the baby will be like… it's growing too fast… but the dad is totally hot… oh God… I need to stop thinking around her… but no… the drugs should keep her out of my head….'
Hmmm, maybe she would be an ally. Might she help us?
'Can't stand being around these freaks… feel bad for them but they creep me out… no one should be able to do what they can do… not natural… not the way God made us… abominations… no… I'm doing the right thing… taking care of my family….'
Or maybe not….
She left the room without looking back at me, and I left her mind alone when she started thinking of church and her weekend plans. Interesting that their attempts to control my powers had failed. But definitely advantageous to me.
'Sam?'
"Yeah?"
'I hope you're not mad. I didn't do it on purpose, but I could hear the thoughts of that nurse through your mind. Is that normal?'
Well, not normal. But then, what about any of this was in any way normal? "There's something going on with our powers, but I don't know what. Why aren't these drugs working the way they think?"
Regardless, my heart lightened. We finally had a few things going for us. They didn't know I could still read minds, and Drake and I were together. Sort of. Now we just needed a way of getting the hell out of here.
"Okay, I think I have a plan." I tried to infuse my mental voice with more authority and confidence than I actually possessed. "We need to get your powers back. So I'm thinking I need to find a way to switch the medicine they have you on, so we can get the drugs out of your system. When your strength returns and you can manipulate people with your mind again, we can work together to get out of here."
'That was my thought, too. Next time the nurse comes to replace the fluid, I'll look at the bag more closely and tell you what it's called. You can poke around in her mind to see where they keep it, but you have to get out of those restraints.'
"Yeah, I know. I'm hoping they won't keep a pregnant girl locked up all the time. I need to walk around and stuff, to keep the baby healthy. Don't I?"
'I guess so. One of my foster moms had some complications while pregnant. She was forced into bed rest for months. That's when I had to go to another home. It was too much for them. So I don't know.'
No way did I want bed rest for months! "Great, thanks for the pep talk."
'Hey, just trying to be helpful. We might want to have a Plan B in place.'
"If only I had your ability to control minds!"
'That would be awesome. Wait, I wonder… have you ever tried to use another person's power?'
'No, why would I?' The idea intrigued me, but I had no reason to believe it was even possible.
'Maybe you couldn't do it with most powers, but what about other mental powers? Your mind-reading is similar to what I can do. You gather information from their minds, and I manipulate information. Either way, we're accessing a person's thoughts. I bet you could do it if you tried. Maybe that's why we have this mental connection, because our powers are so much alike. And maybe… maybe that's why they paired us up, because they want kids with our combined power.'
That made sense, although the thought of them genetically planning our babies, with some nefarious, long-term plot, made me ill. No time to think of that now. Could I learn to control minds like Drake? I'd never tried it, but… how to start?
'Next time the nurse comes in…. Her name is Susie, by the way. I heard a doctor call her that. They aren't real warm and friendly here, if you haven't noticed. Anyway, next time she comes in, make sure you're linked to me, and see if you can get her to do one small thing mentally.'
"Okay, but how?"
'Well, how do you read minds?'
I'd never really thought about it before. I'd always known how to do it. The hard part had been learning to control it. "I form a link with them, like a colored chord that goes from my mind to theirs. Kinda like plugging in a telephone. Once it's connected, the information flows through it. If I have to, I can go into their mind and extract more thoughts, not just the ones they're having in the moment, but previous thoughts. That's a lot harder, because it's not a neat filing system where I can just look up what I want. It's a mix of images, sounds and smells, all layered on itself. I avoid doing that if I can."
'It's not that different then.' He sounded more excited than he had before. Maybe we did indeed have a chance at succeeding. 'When you're in their mind to read it, instead of just receiving the flow, send information back. Implant it there like it's their own thought.'
Now I was excited too. And impatient. How long would they leave me lying here in this uncomfortable position? My muscles ached and my head still hurt. My arms had some range of motion, but not much.
The door opened again, and an older man entered with white hair, big bushy eyebrows to match, and overly kind eyes. A contrived look. At another time and another hospital, my formerly trusting self might have liked this doctor. But I'd changed. After being held hostage, impregnated against my will, and strapped to a bed, I wasn't exactly full of warm fuzzies. His eyes didn't fool me. In fact, they made him all the more evil, faking kindness while treating people like this.
"Hello, Sam, I'm Dr. Pana. You're a strong girl. We didn't expect you to wake up so soon."
His syrupy sweet voice, the kind of voice that plotted unimaginable tortures while telling you how lovely the day was, enraged me.
"So I gathered." I tried to keep the sarcasm out of my voice. Best to stay on neutral ground for now. "What happened? When will I be released so I can get to New York? Where is all my stuff?"
He chuckled like we were old pals. Yeah right. "New York has been put on hold. We've discovered that you're very sick. That illness you contracted after your last assignment… the one that left you recovering in the Clinic at school? It has come back. You didn't wake up when your flight landed. Instead of taking you to your new home, you were brought here for treatment."
Well, at least I knew how they planned on playing this. They wanted me docile for as long as possible. Good. If they told me the truth or treated me like a prisoner, I'd be locked up for good. This at least gave me a chance to save us.
"If I'm so contagious, how is it that you're not at risk being near me?"
His eyes narrowed, as if he expected that someone trained for spy games her whole life wouldn't have thought to ask something so obvious. Did he even know anything about me? It appeared not. All the better. Let him underestimate me, and see how far that got him. I knew how to play that game well.
"We have been vaccinated against it. Others have not."
"What is 'it'?"
"Pardon me?"
I sighed. "What is the disease you keep talking about? What's it called? How'd I get it? What's the treatment and prognosis? You know, stuff patients like to know when they are being treated."
"I don't think you should worry about all that for now. You should focus on getting yourself healthy."
"Doctor, with all due respect, I'm an adult. I can check myself out at will, according to my constitutional rights. I am an American, regardless of where we are currently located."
He looked surprised. Maybe I had pushed this too far. I didn't want them to become suspicious so soon.
"No, in point of fact, you can't." Was he gloating? "You have a highly contagious disease. You would be putting others at risk. You are being contained in a facility with minimal staff, all of whom were vaccinated as soon as we could fly in an emergency supply. It wasn't easy to get, let me tell you. This is a rare strain of the flu. You must have contracted it on a recent assignment. Were you around anyone who had been travelling internationally recently?"
&n
bsp; I thought about it. "Maybe our client. He was in Africa, I think."
He looked pleased that I helped him form his story. "That could be it. This strain is mostly seen in Africa."
Of course, I'd lied. My client hadn't been to Africa or anywhere else. He'd been too busy working on his domestic takeover. But it gave me a chance to slip into his mind.
'Fine specimen… played into that nicely… baby will be very powerful.'
Pfft, fine specimen indeed! "Can you at least get these restraints off me? Surely this isn't necessary if everyone here is immune and I am supposed to be healing?"
He motioned to the nurse. "Of course, forgive me. We were worried you would hurt yourself in your delusional state. Now that you're awake, naturally, they're no longer needed."
I smiled sweetly. "Naturally."
The nurse freed me, and I rubbed my raw wrists and ankles, and stretched my sore, cramped body. I wanted to try the mind control thing, but not with two of them in the room. No reason to trigger anyone's suspicions.
I nodded to the IV still in my arm. "What's this for?"
"Fluids to keep you hydrated, and an antibiotic to fight the infection. Your headaches, dizziness, and vomiting were caused by the disease. This will help you heal, but we don't know how long it will take. Until then, you are our guest. We'll put you in a more comfortable room, where all of your belongings have been placed. We want you to enjoy your stay here, however long it might be."
I shrugged. They'd have to tell me eventually. How long could you hide a pregnancy from a woman? Especially if the baby grew faster than normal?
Once the doctor left, I tried to test my potential mind control, but thoughts of the new room distracted me too much. I stood for the first time in a while, and all the blood rushed from my head, leaving my feet feeling heavy and awkward, and my head pounding.
I grabbed the nurse's arm to steady myself. She started to shy away, but apparently remembering her job, put her hand on my waist to steady me. At a measly 5'6", I still towered over her petite frame. She helped me sit in the wheelchair and hold onto my IV pole, and we made our way down the hall.
Bare, boring beige walls led to my new room, which had a twin bed with a blue comforter that looked clean and comfortable. A modest closet, a private—but basic—bathroom, dresser, desk, and a small nightstand by the bed, made it seem less like a prison. Any apartment I could have found in the Big Apple would probably have been smaller. The remote next to my bed controlled a television hooked to the wall, beyond my reach. A small barred window overlooking the woods reminded me that I was still in prison, even if they didn't want me to know it yet. Too bad I didn't have Luke's superpower of walking through walls.
"Your personal items have already been put away. I'll bring your meals at 7:30 AM, 12:30 PM and 5:30 PM. If you need anything else, just ring that bell by your bed, and someone will respond immediately." She said this as if to suggest that ringing the bell would be frowned on.
"Am I allowed to go outside, walk around or work out anywhere?"
She eyed me and placed her hands on her hips. "You are sick, remember? You must rest and let your body heal. You'll get one hour of outdoor time every day after lunch. There's a gated courtyard where you can take a walk."
"Wow, this is just like I always imagined prison would be."
"I suggest you learn to appreciate what you have here. Not all are so lucky."
I thought of Drake, strapped down and drugged. When was the last time he got to exercise or move around? Better off than him, but lucky? Not so much.
Before the nurse could leave, I decided to practice the mind control thing. Who knew when I would get another chance?
First I reached into her mind.
'She thinks she's so much better than everyone because she has powers… just a freak… can't believe I felt sorry for her… can't believe they want to breed more like her… disgusting….'
I reached into her mind and planted a thought.
'I need to wash my hands… I should do that right now….'
"Excuse me, I need to use your bathroom to wash my hands." She walked to the bathroom, washed her hands, and then left my room with a slightly baffled look on her face. The lock clicked shut as she went back to wherever she spent her time when she wasn't sitting in judgment of me.
Her cruel words could not bring me down. I'd done it! She couldn't have had that impulse to wash her hands in my bathroom at the exact moment I implanted the thought.
I linked to Drake, but he was already there and excited.
'I knew you could do it. Now you just need to practice more, in small ways. They'll remember what they did, unless you also tell them to forget after they do it. You need to get good at that, cuz the things you'll want her to do later will raise huge red flags if she remembers.'
"No kidding. I doubt she'll think it was normal to let me out of my room so I can swap your drugs."
'Speaking of that, I got you the info you need.'
I grabbed a pen and paper and took notes, only then noticing the hospital gown someone had dressed me in. Exhaustion, or anything else, couldn't be allowed to distract me from noticing such details. That could be very dangerous.
I pulled my IV across the room to my closet, and searched through my clothes to find some sweatpants and a t-shirt. I took the bag down and pulled it through the sleeve in my shirt, allowing me to dress. I was tempted to tear the damn thing out, but they'd not like that very much. For a while, at least, I needed to act as if I believed their bullshit story. Besides, maybe they were giving me something to help the baby. It stood to reason they would want the healthiest baby possible.
~~~
For the first couple of days, only the nurse and the horrible doctor came to see me. Drake kept up a constant stream of conversation, and I made extensive sketches of the few locations and people I saw everyday: my room, the hall, the courtyard, my nurse, and the doctor, though he didn't come around much. I even tried drawing Drake a couple of times, but it was hard to see him through his own perception of himself. What did he see of me when I sent him my image?
On the third day, on the way back from my outdoor hour, a doctor I didn't recognize escorted a pregnant girl out to the lawn. The girl looked to be close to her delivery date. My guard grabbed my arm harshly, steering me to my room, but in that brief moment I locked eyes with the girl. Her eyes filled with tears as we recognized each other.
Rebeka had been in a few of my classes, and I liked her. She'd left Rent-A-Kid several months ago—gone to Paris. I'd kept a postcard from her in my dresser.
The doctor didn't draw much attention until she spoke directly to my mind. 'Please do not make a scene. Go back to the room quietly and pretend you do not see us. I am your friend. I am here to help, but they won't let me near you. Lock onto my mental signature and find me later. My name is Ana.'
"Who are you?"
'We'll talk more later. I must go.'
When I got back to my room, I told Drake about Rebeka and Ana.
'Be careful. I don't trust anyone who works here,' he said.
"I don't either. I'm just surprised to find another mind reader—never found my para-power very impressive. After all, my friends can do some cool shit, but I don't know anyone else who can read minds. Wonder why I couldn't sense her during my scans?"
'I don't know, maybe she has a way of blocking someone else. That would be cool if you could learn that.'
"Yeah, well, one thing at a time!"
We hadn't made much progress with our get-out-of-jail plan, but my mind-controlling abilities had improved. It seemed I was a natural—a big plus for us. It was like a game, to see what I could do, how far I could push it.
Over the next several days, I kept to little things that no one would notice or suspect, except for erasing memories, even on the doctor. It worked. This gave me hope, though I was still too nervous to do anything major.
Drake had a similar schedule to mine, but we never met. They didn't let us near anyo
ne else, but I could tell through my mental scans that there were at least three others in the building.
I learned about the video surveillance and the doors with special scanners, which only worked with certain staff ID cards. Dr. Pana, Nurse Susie, and one other presence further away whose thoughts were unusually fuzzy, revealed little. Was that Rebeka or Ana? Why couldn't I lock onto Ana's signature like she said? Where might the others be? Perhaps they had Rebeka on a drug that kept her mind hidden?
I worried about her being here too. I wanted to save us all, but we had to get out and find help before we could assist anyone else. Sort of like the oxygen masks in the airplanes—you have to save yourself first, or everyone dies. Something like that.
I worked to cultivate patience and keep my body strong. When in the yard, I walked, did lunges, pushups, sit ups, and running in circles. My muscles burned in new and painful ways, and the heat sent bile rising to my throat regularly. At least they unhooked the IV during this time. It was a relief to be free, in a manner of speaking.
I kept an eye out for Ana or Rebeka, but hadn't seen either of them again.
I didn't think continuing the workouts would hurt the baby, though I only knew about pregnancy what I'd learned from television and biology class. I wasn't a badass or anything. My mental gifts had demanded that I focus on my studies. I didn't know how to fight, or any of that Kung Fu stuff. Drake would have to handle that if necessary.
They required us to stay in top shape for health and longevity, yet my body grew weaker every day, even as my powers grew stronger. While outside one afternoon, all my senses kicked into hyper-focus. The chain link fence imprisoning me screeched in a high-pitched whine as the wind blew against it. My body flooded with sweat as the sun beat down. My belly ached, and even the skin on my abdomen burned as if stretched and torn.
The changes were happening so quickly!
My once flat stomach pushed out. I half expected a monster to burst through my skin, like that scene in Aliens. I doubled over in pain, fighting tears and trying to slow my breath.
Forbidden Mind (Forbidden #1) Page 6