by Jessica Kapp
“Have to,” she says. “It’s protocol.”
I look around for a weapon. All I see are foam pads and cotton balls. The beeping speeds up and I manage to free a hand from the restraint. I rip the mask from my face and the woman’s eyes grow wide. She pounces and grabs the hand that’s loose.
“Easy there,” she says. The ambulance turns and gravity pulls the room to the side. She loses her grip, and I tug on the strap across my chest while arching my body. White lights flicker in the edges of my vision and I wail as my back burns in pain.
“Hang on,” the man says to his partner. He reaches for the shelf above his head.
The woman leans her body over me, pressing against my shoulders. “Hurry!”
“Got it!”
My eyes flash to the man’s hands. He’s holding a syringe. I flail, freeing one of my legs. I feel the stab of a needle as I start to swing my foot.
“It’s in.” The man pulls his hand back. My arm pulses and a warm current surges through me, making my toes tingle. I stare at the spot where he injected me, wishing I’d been stronger. Wishing I could think.
My breathing slows. The beeping settles into a leisurely cadence. And I smile.
“Better?” The man winks.
“Much,” I mumble. His beard looks rough, but his face is kind. I decide to wink back, but I can’t get my eyes to work separately. The more I try, the more it makes me laugh.
He chuckles. “Good. Now enjoy the ride. We’ll be there shortly.”
• • •
The EMTs unhook me from the oxygen machine and ease the gurney out of the ambulance. Two men in blue scrubs come out to greet us. They chat with the EMTs as I watch a bird fly over the building. I’m counting the windows when I hear a voice that makes my ears perk up. I turn my face toward a man in a business suit walking in my direction.
His eyes are a steely blue that makes me shiver. My heart races, and the euphoric feeling is replaced by a prickle of terror that climbs up my spine.
He leans over me with a sly smile. “You just missed my son.”
Who’s his son? Think, Tabitha! I know I was in an accident, but this man isn’t a doctor. My jaw clenches as I try to make sense of what’s going on.
“You’ll be happy to know Kenny’s going to be fine.”
Kenny! My breath catches in my throat. The fog lifts and images of Meghan’s bloody body flash in my mind like an alarm.
I reach for Mr. Murphy’s tie with my free hand, grazing the silk fabric as he jerks his body back. When he wags a finger, I lift my head and spit, hitting his shirt.
Two nurses dash over as I twist back and forth, trying to wiggle out of the restraints. One nurse rams my shoulders down while the other straps my arm in place.
“Let me go!” They snap a new mask over my nose and mouth. There’s no air being pumped this time, only my hot, recycled breaths that are heavy and full of fear.
When my limbs are cinched tight, Mr. Murphy steps forward, a satisfied smirk on his face. “Don’t worry. PharmPerfect uses only the best equipment.” Someone hands him a clipboard, and he signs at the bottom, barely glancing at the paper. “I’ve assigned a team of top doctors to take care of you.” He gestures at two men standing by the door and they nod obediently. “I’m going to see how my son is doing, but I’ll come check on you later.”
Mr. Murphy heads through the emergency entrance with an air of confidence, strutting like a peacock in full plumage. The doctors follow him. I whip my gaze around, searching for another escape. One of the nurses grabs the back of the gurney and shifts my feet toward the door. I rock my body, trying to tip myself over.
“Get me a needle,” the nurse behind me calls out.
“No, don’t drug me!” I plead through my mask. “I’ll be good.”
A woman approaches with a syringe, a drop of green liquid oozing from the needle’s tip. My heart bangs wildly against my sternum. I suck in a breath, holding it while I make myself lie still. I lock eyes with the nurse pushing the gurney. “Please. No needle.”
The nurse works a muscle in her jaw, her lips parted like she’s about to give the order. Then, she gives the woman with the needle a slight shake of her head. My body unclenches.
The hospital buzzes with phones and intercoms as she wheels me past the reception desk and into the elevator. My head is positioned directly under the hatch where Gavin and I escaped after our botched rescue mission. My mind drifts back to that day, how close we came to getting caught. How awful it felt to lose Meghan.
I wonder if they’ll wheel me to the same room to cut me open. I can almost smell the blood just thinking about it. My lip quivers and I bite down to punish it. I’m not dead yet. The Center taught me to be a fighter. I’ll make them regret they did.
I inflate my chest, pressing against the straps, trying to loosen them. The elevator bings when we reach the fifth floor, and I continue my exercise as she pushes me through the foot traffic to a room on the end. She wheels me in and hits a button on the door when she leaves. The flashing red light by the entrance is my only company in the sterile room.
I give my torso a rest and strain my legs until my thighs feel like they’ll spontaneously combust. Before I can try again, the door opens. A nurse rolls an IV bag hanging from a metal rod into the room. She shoves a needle into my hand and tapes it in place, hooking up the tube that will feed me the liquefied drugs.
She doesn’t look at me; she works as if I’m already dead and leaves without a word.
I want to scream and cry and fight—anything but die. I grunt, urging my body to push harder before I’m too drugged up to care about survival. I watch the IV drip, teasing me like an hourglass. How many minutes do I have left before my body goes numb? Before I become a human incubator for organisms to make soldiers unstoppable? Then my muscles twitch like they’ve been shocked by an electric current. There’s a fire in my veins. I flex, lifting against the pressure on my wrist.
Pop!
My right arm flies up. I stare at the strap dangling over the side of the bed, shocked. The IV drips faster, and I reach for the strap on my chest, tugging with all my might. It snaps like a rubber band.
That was too easy.
I sit up, examining my arms. They’re red and splotchy and my muscles feel charged with power. My breathing is quick and shallow. Something’s not right. I lift my right leg, and the strap comes off with ease. How is this possible? In the corner of my eye, another drop falls.
The IV’s not putting me to sleep; it’s making me stronger.
Why would they do that?
I hop off the bed. No time to worry about that right now. Giving the IV bag one last squeeze, I let my veins suck in the fuel before yanking out the needle and tube.
I’m prepared to try out my new strength on the door, but it’s not locked. Odd. Then, I peek into the hallway. No guards.
The nurses and doctors must not be worried about me escaping. They probably think I’m halfway to dreamland by now. Did they mix up the IV bags by mistake?
I’ll take all the luck I can get right now.
I ready myself to make a run for the exit, but hesitate when I see Kenny’s dad exit a room three doors down. He stops to say something to a nurse and she laughs, throwing her head back and holding out a hand like she doesn’t want him to leave. Eventually, he walks toward the elevator in assertive strides.
As soon as he’s gone, I make my move. I don’t stop until I make it to the third door.
I slip inside. Kenny’s eyes bulge when he sees me and he bolts upright.
“Hello again,” I say, my fists balled.
Kenny reaches for a remote on the bedside table and I swing my foot, kicking it out of the way. “Afraid to face me alone?”
“How did you get here?” Kenny’s nose is bandaged, and there’s a shiny glaze of cream under his eyes. He shifts uncomfortably, like he’s debating whether he wants to make a dash for the door.
I inch closer.
“Why’d you do it, Kenny? Was there a reward
? Or was it just for your daddy’s approval?”
I grab his shirt, lifting him off the bed high enough to scare him. The fear travels from his eyes to his mouth as his lip bounces. “What the hell are you on?”
The door clicks and I drop him, ready to attack whomever steps inside. I freeze when I see it’s Ry. I search his eyes, unsure what to think. His gaze flits to my arm muscles and I hitch a breath. “The IV bag. It was you.”
“You weren’t here to check on me,” Kenny says angrily. “You were here to drug her!”
“I didn’t lie,” Ry says. “I came to check on my family.” Ry gives me one of his perfect smiles. I want to hug him, but he gestures for the door. “Get out of here while you’re strong enough.”
Kenny’s bed squeaks, and when I spin around he’s barreling at me. My fist connects with the bandage on his nose. His head flies back and he groans in pain.
“I’ll take care of Kenny,” Ry says, “Go!”
“Thanks, Ry.” I fling open the door.
An alarm sounds when I stick my head out and I glance toward my room. A nurse has her finger on a button on the wall. It’s the nurse that wheeled me in, and when our eyes lock, she points at me. “That’s her!”
I tear through the hall, my shoulders plowing into nurses and doctors like a battering ram. I head down the stairs. My feet hammer against the metal steps. The echo chases me until I reach the first floor and throw the door open.
I freeze when I see the gun pointed at my face.
Chapter 28
The security guard motions for me to come out of the stairwell. I clasp my hands above my head, keeping my movements slow, nonthreatening. I ease into the lobby, sliding my body along the wall, watching his eyes, waiting for my opportunity to take his weapon.
I’m about to make my move when there’s a loud crash. The guard flinches as the ground shakes beneath us. Screams fill the room as people scatter, running from the truck protruding through the lobby door, jammed like it’s stuck in a tunnel.
Gavin!
As my eyes search for him, something hard cracks me in the back of the skull. I drop to my knees, trying to blink away the spots in my vision. I turn my face as the guard lifts his gun again, the handle aimed at my forehead. I close my eyes, but I hear a pop and a thud and reopen them. The guard is crumpled on the ground. Gavin drops the tire iron and scoops me up. My body melts into his arms.
“You all right?” His mouth presses against my hair. I nod, clinging to his familiar scent. The smell of safety. “Hold on.” He takes off down the hall toward the emergency exit. Outside, Craig’s empty car is waiting for us.
We get in and the car squeals as Gavin backs up. He drives toward the exit, but it’s blocked. Two security cruisers stand in the way of our freedom. I feel Gavin’s stare and meet his eyes with a nod. This is our only way out, our only chance at freedom.
He floors it.
One of the guards waves at the other officer and crouches behind his vehicle. His head pops up, along with the barrel of his gun.
“Get down!” Gavin swerves, aiming for the cruiser on the left.
Bullets ping against my door. We plow past the police car, bouncing off its side, and the force makes my body lurch. I gasp as the seatbelt breaks my momentum. Gavin jerks the wheel. He struggles to regain control as our car bursts onto the main road.
Before my body can unclench, the back window shatters. Glass rains over us, and my hand flies up to cover my head. It’s warm and sticky. My fingers tremble as I examine the blood.
“Are you hit?” Gavin asks, panic-stricken.
“My head…”
Gavin reaches for the spot and lets out a breath. “That’s from the guard. You’re going to be okay.”
I feel the bump forming beneath the gash and know he’s right. My heart slows.
The wind whistles behind me. I look over my shoulder, glancing through the hole. The buildings shrink as we merge onto the highway, away from the city center.
“How’d you find me?”
“Adrian tapped into the ambulance’s communication link. They mentioned a girl without records.” He wipes the sheen from his brow. “Cherry finally confessed what you’d done when we got to my house. But when we went back to PharmPerfect, Kenny’s car was gone.”
My spine straightens when I hear the faint sound of sirens, but Gavin doesn’t seem to notice.
“I thought…” He grimaces. “I thought I was too late.” He reaches for me, his hand warm over mine. There’s suffering in his eyes, but a smile warms his face. His expression changes when the sirens grow louder. His lips form a tight line, and I whirl around to look out.
“Do you see them?”
My hair whips my face as we pass cars and trucks. “No, not yet.” I face forward, pulling the strands away from my eyes. Gavin must be going twenty miles over the speed limit as he cuts through traffic to get around people.
Gavin blares his horn, muttering something about the driver in the far left lane.
“Where are we going?”
“Home base.” He points and I lean forward, my hands on the dash. A thread of black rises up from a cluster of trees. It’s so faint I have to squint to be sure it’s really there.
“Is that smoke?”
He nods without taking his eyes off the road.
“But isn’t that where—”
“The barn is,” he finishes.
“We’re going back? I thought it wasn’t safe?”
“It’s not. But that’s the idea.”
“That doesn’t make sense.” My questions stop when I see the flash of blue and red in the side mirror. “They’re gaining on us.”
Gavin curses and cuts across two lanes. “We need to throw them off.” Tires screech and horns honk as he zigzags around cars. His eyes shuttle between the mirror and the road. “How many do you see?”
“Two. No. Make that three.”
“I know where we can lose them.” He wrenches the wheel, narrowly missing the exit sign as we leave the highway. There’s a truck waiting for the light to turn green at the end of the off ramp. Gavin rides the shoulder to bypass it, turning right without so much as a pause.
We speed down a hill that takes us out of view from the exit and park behind a building that looks like it’s been gutted—even the front door is missing.
Gavin kills the engine.
He reaches for my hand as the sirens grow louder. A bead of sweat trickles down my back. Neither of us moves or says a word, as if the sound of a single blink will give us away.
The wait lasts for no more than three minutes, but it feels like hours. When the sirens fade, I crack the window, forcing myself to breathe again. Gavin gets out of the car and picks up a large rock. He chips off the glass that still hangs from the rear window then we slip back onto the highway, driving the speed limit the rest of the way to keep the attention off of us.
When we reach the barn, the air reeks of smoke and loss. Any sense of relief I have goes up in flames. There’s a plume of black rising from the building that once protected me. And in the spot Gavin’s truck usually occupies, there’s a white SUV.
“Don’t worry,” Gavin says as I jump out. “Everyone is safe.”
I scan my surroundings, certain we’re being watched. There aren’t many places to hide. The barn looks skeletal. Orange flames are swallowing up the red siding. Embers float above our heads, and the smoky cloud looming over us feels ominous.
“But they’re here.” I point at the SUV.
“That’s not them.” Gavin grabs my hand. “That’s us.”
The blaze reflects in Gavin’s eyes when I face him. The heat ripples the air and it’s so dry I can barely swallow. “You mean everyone’s here? Sasha? Mary?”
He nods. “Even Parker. My dad let him out.” He nods toward the SUV. “That’s his car. Our team’s hiding out in the forest.”
“But the barn? Why’d you destroy it?” It hurts to watch it burn.
“I’ll show you.” He leads me
toward the shed. I hear shuffling inside and I rip my hand away from Gavin’s in case I need to strike. Gavin pulls back the door and his dad drops a plastic container. It gives a slight bounce and lands on its side.
“You scared me,” Bracken says.
“Sorry ‘bout that.” Gavin picks up the container, setting it on the shelf. I cover my nose, inhaling the strong smell of gasoline. “Are we good?” Gavin asks him.
Bracken peels off his long black gloves. “There should be plenty of fuel to keep it lit. I’ll wait in the car. When they arrive, I’ll take off like we planned.”
“What’s going on?” I say, a hint of desperation in my voice.
“He’s going to try to get them to follow him. The plan is to make the cops think we’ve switched cars, met up with a getaway vehicle. If we time it right, at least one of the cruisers will follow my dad. That way if the signal doesn’t work maybe we can get away…”
“What signal?” I feel dizzy from the smell and back up to the entryway. I’m trapped between heat and gas.
“I got a response. One of my messages must have made it through. The military heard us.”
Now I really need air. When I step outside, I hear the faint sound of sirens.
The news and the fumes make my head spin. Gavin follows me out, gripping my arm as I waver. I focus on his eyes to steady my brain. “Adrian found a channel that worked.”
“My dad…he responded?”
The sirens are fast approaching, and Bracken pushes us out of the way so he can shut the shed door. “Get her into the woods,” he says, pulling the keys from his pocket.
Gavin tugs on my arm and we run. My legs feel like rubber, but we don’t stop. We keep moving until we can’t see the barn anymore. Gavin leans against a tree to catch his breath.
“What did my dad say?”
Gavin arches his back to stretch. When he relaxes, I see uncertainty in his eyes. “I don’t know if it was him. They just asked some questions and I answered. I said I’d make a signal where they could find us. I don’t know who got the message. For all I know, they think it’s a prank, but it’s a shot.”
I try not to let my disappointment show, holding my chin up even though it wants to drop.